Where I Belong
by tomboy2012
Summary: After a one night stand with a mysterious guy who Quinn is absolutely positive that she has met before, she stumbles upon her Perfect Thing after fifteen years, just not the way that she expected they would meet again. Is Quinn still not ready to be a mother figure? With a little help from an unsuspected ex that she thought she would never see again, she just might be ready.
1. Chapter 1

Quinn Fabray groaned at the light shining through the blinds in her bedroom and tried to blink the sleep out of her eyes. She turned over to her side and frowned when she realized that she was alone, because from what she can remember, there had been someone with her last night. Judging by the pounding in her head, she can tell that she had been drinking and has vague memories of the dark haired man that came home with her last night. He was familiar somehow; he reminded her of someone from her past.

Quinn turns towards her clock and realizes that Santana and Brittany are supposed to show up in a couple hours and she doesn't have any food in her house. She usually eats take out most nights, and there isn't any need for her to have food in her Manhattan apartment. Quinn winces when she sits up, feeling all of the blood rush to her head. It feels like someone is pounding away at her head with a jackhammer and Quinn makes a beeline to the Tylenol that she keeps handy in the kitchen cabinet for occasions like this.

After taking the pills and turning to start her morning routine by making a pot of coffee she's surprised to find a fresh cup waiting for her in one of her favorite mugs, along with a note from the mystery person.

_Didn't mean to ditch you, but I had to head to work. Hope that the coffee makes up for it. I had fun last night._

The note doesn't have a name anywhere on it, but there's a number at the bottom. Quinn stares at the note for a second, her brow furrowing. She wonders if she should call him, but doubts that it would be a good idea. She isn't really into dating; she has a great career and great friends. Quinn worked as a journalist for the _New York Times _after graduating from Yale, and had moved to Manhattan. Santana and Brittany lived in Brooklyn, and were coming into Manhattan to have a girl's weekend together.

Quinn can't remember much about the guy from last night, just that he was sexy and good in bed. Quinn decides that she's not going to think about this right now, and throws the note back down on the counter. She grabs the cup of coffee and takes a sip, noticing that there is a dash of sugar and splash of cream, just the way that she likes it. She tries not to think so much about the way that her coffee was prepared, because she knows that it could have just been a coincidence, though something still nags at her in the back of her mind.

Quinn doesn't dress up much, because she and the girls are supposed to hang out at the spa all day. She starts heading down to the subway station to greet her friends, feeling the crisp air of autumn hit her as soon as she steps out of the door. She decides that she will walk to the grocery store around the corner and catch a cab to the station when she's finished.

Quinn doesn't go crazy in the store and only buys things for breakfast and dinner for the next two days, figuring that lunch will probably be eaten somewhere else. She's pondering about what she'll make for dinner that night when she bumps into a tattered looking man. Quinn is quick to apologize, but the man only stares at her. "Do you hear the drums?" He asks her in a scratchy voice, and Quinn blinks at him, not knowing what to say. No matter how many years she spends living in the city, she'll never get used to some of the people.

"Charlie, get the hell away from here! Go bother someone else with your bull." Quinn turns to see a young girl sitting on the ground, her eyes narrowed at the man, who shouts a few profanities before slinking away, figuring that Quinn must not be worth it if there was this much trouble with her. Quinn frowns at the young girl, not noticing the man as he walks away. The girl has on jeans that looked to be falling off of her small frame, and they were covered in dirt with a few tears in them. She had a darkly colored sweat shirt on, which also seemed to be hanging off of her body. She didn't wear any shoes, just dirty white socks with an assortment of differently sized holes. Quinn couldn't tell what color the girl's hair was, but it looked dark and hung down to her waist, though it seemed tangled.

"Don't mind him."

Quinn was snapped out of her trance by the girl speaking and looked back up at her eyes, which were a a pretty hazel color. It was a long shot, because thousands of little girls had green eyes, but Quinn couldn't help herself from thinking about her Perfect Thing. The Perfect Thing that Shelby had adopted almost fifteen years ago.

"Excuse me?" Quinn asked, beginning to feel flustered. The grocery bags weighed down in her hands, though she didn't want to put them down anywhere, out of fear that someone might take them. The girl frowned when she saw the expression on Quinn's face, but scoffed after a moment. "Charlie's always trying to find someone to scam. He starts talking crazy crap and while someone's confused he'll swipe their cash." The girl explained, looking disgusted with the man's work.

Almost as if she knew that she could do better, Quinn realized.

Quinn isn't sure how to respond, so she changes the subject quickly. "Are you alright?" She asks, eyeing the gigantic hole in one of the girl's socks where her toe sticks out. The girl doesn't hesitate to nod, but doesn't meet Quinn's eyes. Quinn isn't sure how to proceed, but her body takes a step closer without her mind realizing. "You're going to freeze." She pointed out. It was November, and Quinn had on a cozy North Face jacket on to keep herself warm. She didn't want to think about what the chilly atmosphere would be like without the jacket on.

The girl paused, before shaking her head. "I'm fine." She insisted, and Quinn took another step forward, not knowing why she felt so drawn to the girl. "Your lips are blue." Quinn pushed, but the girl only scoffed once more. "Trust me lady; I've dealt with much worse."

Quinn quirks an eyebrow and looks down at the groceries in her hand. "Are you hungry?" She asked, not expecting a straightforward answer. The girl's eyes are set on the bag of groceries, but she shakes her head anyway. Quinn obviously doesn't believe her, just looking at the way that her clothes are falling off of her body. "When was the last time that you ate?" She inquired, and the girl shrugged. "Not sure." She mumbled, though Quinn was close enough to hear.

Quinn glances down at the groceries in her hands, and knows that she's making a mistake, but the words fly out of her mouth before she can stop them. "Come with me; I'll make you something." Quinn offered, and the girl's head shot up to stare at her with wide eyes. "I don't swing like that." The girl is quick to say, but Quinn shakes her head. "No, really. I won't do anything, just make you something. I promise."

Are you serious?" The girl asks incredulously. Quinn nods slowly, not sure if she was serious or not. Britt and Santana were supposed to be coming in… but maybe they could get their own cab to Quinn's apartment and meet her there instead. Quinn hopes that the girl will be gone by then, once she has some food in her and taken a shower or something. Deep down, she knows that she's not going to send the girl back on the street, and Quinn's hoping that the girl is just a runaway of some sort, even though she knows that probably isn't the case.

The girl's stomach rumbled loudly, and Quinn smiled softly. "Sounds like you're pretty hungry." She said, trying to make her voice soft. The girl stares at her for a moment before shaking her head. "No, it's fine. You don't have to because you feel sorry for me or some shit."

Quinn's eyebrows pull in together and she finds herself speaking on autopilot once more. "It's not that- you remind me of my daughter." She spews out, and groans internally once she's said it. The girl looks sorry for Quinn for a moment, before wiping the look off of her place. "You don't have to." The girl repeats again, though Quinn knows that she has won. "Come on. You don't have to stay, and I'll make you something quick." Quinn promises, and the girl ponders over this before pulling herself onto her feet and following Quinn towards a taxi.

* * *

"Sorry," The girl apologizes once more, and Quinn shakes her head, still in awe. She has never known anyone that could eat four bowls of spaghetti and still have room for dessert expect for Finn Hudson, but even he didn't eat as fast as this girl did. "Don't be," Quinn smiles before setting down another slice of the chocolate cake in front of the girl, whose eyes widened with excitement. Quinn reminded herself that she would have to buy another cake for Britt and Santana, who agreed to arrive at Quinn's apartment a little later. The couple reassured their friend that they would spend time reminiscing in Times Square after Quinn told them that she was busy with work related topics, but Quinn can tell that Santana doesn't actually believe her lame excuse.

"Ugh, I can't remember a time that I was this full," The girl sighed, leaning back into her seat. Quinn smiled tightly. She was probably only fifteen or sixteen, and Quinn couldn't help but feel bad for her. The shower that the girl had taken not too long ago washed away all of the dirt and grime from her body to reveal wavy blonde hair and cream colored skin. Quinn wasn't sure if she should say anything about the bruises that she knew the girl was trying to cover up; some of them were dark and looked new while some were yellowish colored and seemed to be fading away.

"Well, I'm glad." Quinn said, watching as the girl finishes the cake in thirty seconds- or less. There had to be some sort of record for that, one that the girl had just broken. When the girl finishes her eyes begin to roam around Quinn's apartment, pausing at every framed article that is up on the wall. "So you write for the _Times_?" The girl clears her throat and turns back to Quinn, trying to strike up conversation. Quinn leans against the counter and nodded. "I fell in love with it after college." She explained.

The girl nodded, and continued to look around, her green eyes pausing occasionally on pictures of the Glee club and Quinn's graduation from Yale. The girl stops when she reaches the framed picture of Beth from when she was two years old. Her eyes widen and her face looks a little paler, though that could be blamed on all of the food that she has just eaten. Her eyes stay locked on the picture, and Quinn's eyebrows furrow. "Is everything alright?" She asks, following the girl's eyes over to the picture. "I-is that your daughter?" The girl asks tentatively, not looking away from the picture. Quinn is confused; why would the girl care so much about Beth? Quinn hasn't even seen her daughter since high school, because every time that she tried to reach out to Shelby, she didn't receive answers.

"Yeah, it is." Quinn probably should've left it at that, but she isn't good at taking advice from herself so she adds, "I had her while I was in high school, and gave her up for adoption."

The girl's eyes stay wide, and she whirls back around to face Quinn. "Is that okay?" Quinn asks tentatively, unsure of why that detail would be so important to this girl that she doesn't know. The girl nods slowly as if coming out of a trace. "Yeah, yeah…it's really none of business anyway." She murmurs to herself. "No, it's alright. You kind of look like her." Quinn smiles fondly as she walks over to the picture and pulls it off of the hook.

"She's cute." The girl states blankly before taking a large gulp of water. Quinn nods as she places the picture on the coffee table. "Yeah, she is. Or was, I guess. I haven't seen her since this picture was taken."

Quinn realizes that for the past couple of hours she has been referring to the girl as "the girl" in her mind. "What's your name?" She asks, and the girl looks uncomfortable. Her knee begins to bounce up and down and her eyes dart around the room. Quinn doesn't understand why the girl would be uncomfortable with giving Quinn her name, but she came up to her apartment and ate a grocery store worth of food without much trouble. She tells herself not to judge, because she doesn't know what the girl has been through, but it still seems to odd.

"Beth." The girl mumbles after a few silent moments, playing with her fingers. "My name is Beth."

* * *

Holy shit. Beth was almost ninety percent sure that the blonde haired woman who took her up to her apartment and let her take a shower was her biological mother. But if she was, Beth would have thought that Quinn would recognize her. Quinn; that was what Beth thought her name was, though she couldn't be perfectly sure. Beth was sure that the picture on the wall was her when she was two, which would mean that Quinn hasn't seen her daughter for almost thirteen years. That was a pretty long time.

Quinn thought that Beth was asleep on the couch, even though Beth could hear Quinn whispering about her with the two women that had arrived earlier. Beth couldn't help but feel bad, wondering if she had ruined their plans or something. She lets her head fall back down on the couch and closes her eyes, listening to the sounds of the women fighting back and forth.

"Are you serious right now?" Santana hisses incredulously. "Quinn, just because she has the same name and kind of looks like her doesn't mean-"

"She looks _just _like the picture! And you weren't here to see the way that she stared at it-" Quinn fired back.

"So she was staring at a picture and now all of a sudden she's your daughter? Quinn, you gave her up! Even if she _is _Beth, she probably has to go back to Shelby or something!" Santana reminds her friend, and Quinn can feel her hands twitching at her sides. "It's her. I know it." Quinn repeats, looking over to Brittany, who shrugs helplessly. "Maybe you were just feeling lonely when you saw her-"

"Or hung over!" Santana interrupts loudly, and Quinn groans before swinging into the living room, where Beth seems to be sleeping. "She's exhausted. I wanna get some clothes for her later." Quinn murmurs to herself, and Santana rolls her eyes. "Then you'll never get rid of her."

Quinn narrows her eyes. "Who said that I _wanted _to get rid of her?" She snaps back, and Brittany is prepared to step in to break up a fight. Brittany places a soothing hand on her wife's shoulder before Santana can say anything. "Look, Quinn," Santana starts, struggling to make her voice gentle. "We need to talk about this. You don't know if she's your kid." She points out.

Quinn clenches her jaw. "I'm not throwing her back on the street." She declares. "No one's saying that you have to." Brittany steps in. "Okay, let's say that she is your Beth, alright?" Santana starts and Quinn folds her arms across her chest. "What if she's running away from Shelby? You'll have to send her back sometime, because there are probably people looking for her, and if they find her in your apartment you'll get arrested for kidnapping." Santana explains to her friend, trying to make her understand.

"What if Shelby doesn't want her? Or something happened?" Quinn points out. "She'd still be a ward of the state." Santana shrugs, but she can practically see the light bulb light up above Quinn's head. "But then that means I can become her foster parent, right?" She asks, and Santana rolled her eyes. "But who said that she was a ward of the state? Who even said that she was _Beth_?"

"If there's any way in hell that she could be my daughter, I'm keeping her. Even if she _isn't_ my daughter, I might keep her." Quinn declared, daring either of her friends to challenge her. Santana rolled her eyes before flaunting into the living room and shaking Beth awake. "What're you doing?" Quinn exclaimed, but Santana ignored her.

Beth had heard the sound of Santana's boots clicking towards her and was ready when the woman decided to shake her awake. "Why do you think that Quinn's your mother?" Santana asked bluntly, and Beth's eyes grew wide. Did she actually say that out loud? She doesn't remember mentioning anything, though the way that she stared at the picture could have given her away.

"Uh…" Beth licked her lips. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to, sweetie." Quinn interjected, but Santana waved her away. "I mean, she looks like my mom. My bio mom, I mean." Beth stares down at the pair of jeans that Quinn let her borrow, afraid to meet Santana's eyes. "Bio mom?" Santana repeats. Beth nodded quickly. "I was adopted when I was a baby…but she died in a car accident when I was seven."

All of the women looked stunned with this answer, especially Quinn. "How old are you?" Quinn asks softly, an emotion in her eyes that Beth couldn't place. Beth looked back down at her legs. "Fourteen." She says simply. Beth would've told them that she was supposed to turn fifteen in June, though if Quinn is her mother she would probably know that piece of information. "So you've been on the streets for eight years." Santana rephrased incredulously. "In and out of foster homes, but sometimes the streets are better." Beth shrugs.

Santana looks over to Quinn, and the two seem to share an unspoken conversation before Quinn grabs her pocketbook from where she threw it on the coffee table earlier. "Come on," Quinn says, tossing her North Face over to Beth while digging in the closet for another jacket.

"Where are we going?" Beth asked, looking startled. When Quinn didn't answer, Beth turned to Santana and Brittney, who looked just as confused as she. "To run some errands," Quinn called.

* * *

**What did you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**If there are any errors or typos it's all me.**

"I still don't understand where we're going." Brittany exclaimed, running in order to catch up with the rest of the group. "To get a paternity test," Santana mumbled under her breath as the group neared Lenox Hill Hospital. "Shut up, Satan. We're going to visit an old friend," Quinn mumbled without making eye contact. Santana's eyebrows rose into her forehead at her friend's odd behavior. "And just who might this _friend _be?" Santana pressed as Quinn flagged down a doctor that looked pretty familiar.

"Sebastian, we need to talk." Quinn hissed under her breath. Santana's eyes grew so big that they almost fell out of her eye sockets. "Are you _shitting_ me?" Santana exclaimed loudly, slamming her hand onto the front desk next to her, startling a nurse. "Nice to see you again, Satan," Sebastian smirked, his eyes running over the ring on Santana's finger and Brittany, who was gripping her wife's hand. "So there was a wedding? I'm so disappointed that I wasn't invited."

Brittany's blonde eyebrows drew in closely together as she racked her brain to try to remember who this man was while Santana was fuming. Before she could say anything else, Quinn interrupted her. "Beth needs a checkup." She stated simply, her eyes darting over to the teenage girl, who looked shifty now that the gang was in a hospital. Beth was playing with her hands and her eyes darted around quickly, as if she were searching for ways to escape.

Sebastian looked away from Santana to glance at the girl who was partially hidden behind Quinn's small frame. "Beth?" He repeated, and Quinn nodded quickly. "Can you help or not?" She asked quickly. It would be great of Sebastian could help, but she didn't want to waste time standing around and talking, especially if there were people out looking for Beth. She still wasn't sure what she was going to do, but she wasn't ready to give her baby up just yet. She wasn't even sure if Beth was her Perfect Thing yet, but she felt so drawn to her… it had to be true.

Sebastian's eyes darted around the waiting room before he nodded quickly and pulled the women into an examination room down the hall. "Q, was there seriously no one else that we could come to? There have to be a million freaking doctors in Manhattan!" Santana hissed as the group walked down the hall. "And why the hell do you even _speak _to this douche? You didn't in high school, so why now?" Santana added as an afterthought. Brittany couldn't understand why her wife was so upset about a man that they had all known in high school, but then she remembered when Sebastian threw a slushy with rock salt at Blaine and felt feelings of hate bubble up in her chest as well.

"She happened to write a few articles about one of New York's finest physicians for the _Times._" Sebastian said without turning around as he led the women into the examination room. Santana rolled her eyes and huffed. "I wouldn't trust you to cure me of my hiccups." She leaned against the wall as Brittany rubbed her wife's hands in her own. "Don't let him get the best of you, babe. He's not worth it."

Sebastian glanced at the couple for a moment before rolling his eyes and turning to Beth, who was still hiding behind Quinn. "You can just sit over there," Sebastian directed Beth over to the examination table, helping the teen to climb up. He noticed that she was shaking and had an assortment of bruises upon her cream colored skin. "Where did they find you?" Sebastian mumbled, more to himself than to anyone else in the room. "Outside some store on 2127 Broadway," Beth answered, not meeting the man's eyes. Sebastian smirked regardless, before continuing his examination of the girl.

"She looks like you." He pointed out to Quinn as he was about to finish. Beth was still trembling after Sebastian had applied ointment to some of her bruises and wrapped them in gauze. He didn't look under her shirt, but stared at her arms and neck so long that Santana thought he was trying to look through them. Santana didn't want to admit it, but Sebastian was good at what he did. He was actually, dare she say, somewhat _gentle _while working on Beth, which confused Santana to no end. Of course she realized that this wasn't high school anymore, but she still didn't understand how someone could evolve in such a short amount of time.

"Can I speak to you? Outside?" Sebastian asked Quinn in a low voice, gesturing to Beth, who kept her eyes fixed on the green and blue tiles on the ground. Quinn nodded quickly, and flashed a quick smile to Beth as she headed towards the door. "You're leaving?" Beth asked. Quinn wasn't sure why the girl sounded so frantic about being left alone, but comforted her regardless. "I'm just going to be outside and Santana and Britt will be in here with you." She soothed the girl. Beth looked reluctant as Sebastian and Quinn left the room, but sat on the examination table anyway.

"Who the _fuck-_" Sebastian started, but Quinn shushed him. "Don't let anyone hear you!" Quinn hissed, eyeing a few nurses that were walking around at the end of the hallway. "Did you kidnap her?" Sebastian hissed, his green eyes narrowing. Quinn had half a mind to slap him across the face, but decided not to, seeing as he helped Beth and she might need him to do more at a later time. "Why the hell would I do something like that?" Quinn fired back.

Sebastian glared at her. "You bring this kid covered in bruises and scrapes and cuts that looks like she's terrified of _everything_ to me to look at or _fix _or whatever the hell you want me to do. What the hell am I supposed to think?" Sebastian ranted, causing Quinn to sigh and run a hand over her face. "So, what's wrong with her?" She asked after Sebastian had cooled down a bit, not wanting to wait another moment. The young doctor's eyes shifted warily over to Quinn. "She looks like you." He stated again. Quinn bit her lip and looked down at the tile on the floor, not saying anything.

"Is she yours?" Sebastian pressed, and Quinn was angry with herself when she felt tears in her eyes. "I don't know." She whispered, wrapping her arms around her stomach and holding herself. Sebastian's eyebrows rose. The pair stood in silence for a moment before Sebastian continued to speak again. "I want to run a rape kit on her." He spoke, making Quinn's head snap up.

* * *

"Look, you little twink, she said no, for the millionth time!" Santana exclaimed. Santana had joined the pair outside of the examination room after neither of them had returned, and Beth began to worry. "Why the hell do you even want to run the tests anyway?" Quinn piped up quietly; causing the red faced Sebastian to groan.

"I've already explained it- she doesn't react well to touching from a male, she's shifty, and doesn't make eye contact. I didn't have to have her take off her clothes to be able to tell that there's more bruising, and I need to know what from if I'm going to treat it." The doctor explained again, pinching the bridge of his nose. Quinn hesitated for a moment, before shaking her head once more. "Just do everything else. You're not going to put her through that."

Quinn couldn't bear to even entertain the thought that the young girl might've been attacked or raped. She walked back into the examination room without looking back.

* * *

When Beth awoke, she wasn't sure where she was. She remembered running away from her foster home and ending up outside of a grocery store. She remembered the woman who she thought was her mother, Quinn, taking her home. She remembered the woman named Santana who kind of freaked her out, and the nicer blonde woman, Brittany, and couldn't understand why the two were married to each other.

She remembered the hospital…. That's where she was! She could remember that doctor who she guessed was someone that Quinn knew from high school, though she didn't understand why Santana hated him so much. He was nice enough, though that was usually how all of them started out. He gave her a needle or something… Beth's head hurt just thinking about it.

She opened her eyes slowly, blinking several times to get used to the brightness of the lights in the room. She turned her head to see Quinn sitting in the chair next to the bed, and tried to smile, though it was hard to do when it looked like Quinn had been crying. "What's wrong?" Beth asked softly. Her throat had been had been hurting since last week, but it felt better right now. Maybe it was because of the needle that the doctor guy had given her. What was his name? Something from the Little Mermaid…

"Beth…" Quinn started, but bit her lip almost as soon as she started speaking. "What is it?" Beth asked, alarmed now. She forced herself to sit up in the hospital bed, even though she felt a little dizzy. She wondered where Santana and Britt were for a moment, but the thought was pushed into the back of her mind when she heard what Quinn had to say. "Your foster mom is going to be here in a few minutes to take you home." Quinn rushed out in her scratchy voice.

Beth could feel her mouth drop. Amy still wanted her? Well of course she didn't want her for real, but wanted to check from the state that came with Beth every month. She thought she had gotten out of it when she ran away… why would Amy want her back? "What?" Beth asked, still trying to process everything. "I don't want to go back. Amy's a bitch, and Dennis is a douche." Beth whispered to herself.

"Beth," Quinn interrupted at Beth's language, raising an eyebrow. "You don't have to call them names." She sighed, trying not to cry. She _knew _that she shouldn't have brought Beth to Sebastian, she _knew _it. Of course, it wasn't really Sebastian's fault. When looking for Beth's files, he was forced to make a call to child services, where the group found out that Beth already had a foster family to go back to, and that Quinn wasn't eligible to be her foster mother. But she still wanted to blame Sebastian.

"But it's true!" Beth protested, trying to blink the tears out of her eyes angrily. Quinn began to run her fingers through Beth's hair soothingly. "I'm sure that they aren't _that _bad," She tried to reassure the girl, but Beth shook her head furiously. "All they care about are the checks that they get from the state. That's why they foster so many freaking kids," Beth mumbled into Quinn's shirt. "I just want to stay with you."

Quinn let out a shaky breath, remembering how she felt after giving Beth up. She never would've thought that Beth would end up like _this_; begging not to be taken home because she was afraid of her foster parents. "I'm going to try and become your foster mom Beth." Quinn promised as she rocked the girl back and forth. She could hear the sound of Beth sniffling, and didn't look down, not wanting to see the girl cry. "Promise me you'll come and visit." Beth commanded in a muffled voice, her blonde hair tangled in Quinn's lap.

Quinn paused, not expecting that question from Beth. Quinn had been preparing herself for Beth to be mad at her, and proclaim about how she never wanted to see Quinn again. The conversation was clearly not heading in that direction, and Quinn wasn't sure how she felt. Of course, she was happy that her daughter wanted to be with her, but in some ways it probably would've been easier if Beth just screamed at her to get away. It wouldn't hurt so much to say goodbye then.

"I will if you want me to." Quinn answered, feeling the tears coming up in her throat. "This sucks. Why can't they just let you be my foster mom? The Hunters have enough kids; they won't even notice that I'm gone." Beth let out a shaky breath as she moved to sit up. "I wish I could be your foster mom, too. That's what I'm working towards." Quinn sighed, pulling Beth into a tight hug.

When Santana, Britt and Sebastian walked back into the room they felt horrible to have to break up the bonding moment, so they just stood there and watched. Amy Hunter, however, didn't wait for anyone or anything. "BETHY! Oh my god, I was so worried about you!" The woman rushed into the room, looking as if she would topple over in the heels that she wore. The woman had bleached blonde hair, but Quinn couldn't tell what color her eyes were. She had bright red lips and was wearing a face full of makeup.

"Your foster mother is here…." Sebastian said unnecessarily, earning himself a glare from Santana. The shorter woman understood that Sebastian had to call social services or else he would lose his job, but he couldn't help but be upset at him. Even though she wasn't completely on board with Quinn herself, she still didn't want to see the kid go, especially looking the way that she did. Something suspicious was going on; Santana could tell.

Amy practically ripped Beth from Quinn's arms, though Beth resisted against the woman's pull. Beth looked up with bitter hazel eyes and glared at Amy, but the woman didn't seem to notice. Quinn was about to say something, but was interrupted by another woman entering the hospital room. "Hello," The woman stated simply, looking around at all of the people in the hospital room. "Aren't there only two people allowed in a hospital room?" Amy asked in that high pitched voice of hers that Quinn instantly hated.

The woman who had just entered the room turned to look at Sebastian, who was the only hospital worker that was around, but Sebastian pretended to be reading Beth's file. "Anyway," The woman turned back around to face everyone. "I'm Danielle Stanton, Beth's social worker. I'll be keeping tabs on her when she returns to the Hunter household." She reached over to shake Quinn's hand, and Quinn notices that she had a strong grip. Amy was now stroking Beth's hair and rocking her back and forth, while Beth stared at everyone in the room with wide eyes, as if begging them to save her.

Brittany and Sebastian seemed to be having a conversation in the corner before Sebastian quickly left the room, mumbling something about having to check tests. Santana rolled her eyes and shook her head, turning back to the social worker. "Is there any way that I could have contact with Beth?" Quinn asked the social worker, not addressing the foster mother. Quinn thought that she would earn a smile from Beth, or at least make the girl look a bit more comfortable, but Beth just looked awkward as she sat in Amy's arms. Quinn wanted to rip the girl out of Amy's arms. She could tell how fake this woman was after five minutes.

"Oh, I'm sure that you won't have to follow up on her like that. She already has a social worker." Amy stated while looking down at her finger nails. The social worker was about to say something, but Beth interrupted her. "But I want to be able to visit with Quinn." Beth counteracted, turning to the social worker. Amy narrowed her beady eyes, but when she turned to all of the people in the room and saw how bad she was making herself look, she reconsidered her decision.

"But I guess that it would be alright…you know, every once in a while." Amy shrugged, and Beth practically jumped back into Quinn's arms. Amy clapped her hands together loudly. "Alright, this is sweet and all, but it's time to go. My husband and the rest of the kids are waiting." Amy declared as she grabbed Beth's hand. "Doesn't Beth have a coat? It's chilly outside." Quinn protested weakly. "A coat? Why would a kid need…?" Amy started, but stopped when she noticed Danielle's eyebrows raising. "I mean…her coat and the rest of her things are in the car. You know, we didn't want to overwhelm her." Amy laughed, pinching one of Beth's cheeks before pulling the girl away.

Beth looked back at Quinn with frantic eyes. "I promise that we'll be together again, Beth. Really soon." Quinn promised. They were already out the door.

* * *

"I don't know why you guys need me to say bye to Sebastian. I thought that you were the ones that hated him." Quinn protested as Britt and Santana dragged her down the hall and towards Sebastian's office. "But this is important!" Brittany fought back once the girls were outside of Sebastian's office. Quinn was confused when she saw the girls look both ways as if they were afraid someone would find them, but she was quickly pulled inside of the office.

"What the hell is going on?" Quinn asked, folding her arms. Quinn wasn't in the mood for anything right now. She had just lost that little girl. Quinn wasn't sure if Beth had been her daughter, but it didn't seem to matter right now. When Sebastian didn't say anything, Santana whacked him in the shoulder and grabbed the paper from his hands. "If you don't tell her, I will." Santana threatened, and Sebastian snatched the paper back.

"When I was examining….Beth," Sebastian started, reading the name off of the paper, "I took a DNA swab." Sebastian stated. "And when you were taking that nap… San and I might've snipped some of your hair off." Britt admitted sheepishly. Quinn could vaguely remember dozing off earlier in the day when Sebastian administered medication to Beth.

"You ran a DNA test." Quinn stated emotionlessly. The trio looked at each other before nodding.

"She was Beth, Q. She's yours."

* * *

**So I know that there hasn't been much of Puck in here, but you'll see him pretty soon. Thank you so much for the response on the first chapter!**

**Thanks to:**

**miss agron: Thank you so much!**

**QuickSapphire: I'm glad that you liked it!**

**KatieHaller: I tried to! I hope that this was quick enough!**

**marine04: Thank you!**

**BMontague: I'm glad!**

**gleeothfriends90210cccjsAMD: Yay! I'm glad that you love it!**

**Charlie: Thank you!**

**Have a Happy New Year Everyone!**


	3. Chapter 3

**There will be some somewhat graphic violence at the end of the chapter. Any typos or mistakes are my own.**

* * *

Quinn can feel the familiar haziness taking over her brain as she downs another tequila shot. She doesn't remember how she got back to this bar, or how many drinks that she's had, but she can remember the hospital perfectly. It's almost like remembering the scene from a movie. She can remember Beth's heartbroken face when she saw her foster mother enter the hospital room. She wonders what her face looked like when she found out that Beth was actually her Perfect Thing, but the thought evaporates from her brain just as quickly as it occurred.

The colors in the room had begun to swirl together, reminding Quinn of the ice cream soup that Beth used to make when she was a toddler. But didn't the colors usually blend together and look like mud? These colors were bright and vibrant, and Quinn continued to stare into space until she was startled by a vibration in her pocket. She giggled at the sensation before trying to reach into her pocket and pull out her phone. She tried to read the text that she received, but the colors and words swirl together once more. Quinn huffs, before slamming the phone on the bar counter next to the empty shot glasses.

"Hey, Stranger," Quinn is aware of the husky voice speaking behind her, though she takes her time turning around. She feels like she's on a merry go round, and she remembers seeing pictures of little Beth crying her eyes out while clutching to one of the ponies on a merry go round.  
Quinn decides that she doesn't like merry go rounds, and that she most definitely doesn't like Shelby. She knows somewhere in the back of her head that Shelby is dead, but she still can't help at feeling anger at the woman who kept her from her Perfect Thing.

Quinn freezes when her eyes lock on the eyes of the man, and she feels her lower lip tremble. She feels like there was suddenly a tunnel built for her to escape this hazy world from, one with a bright light at the end that she can't avoid. Quinn's tried not to rely on alcohol too much since her problem with it in college, but she had been hanging out in this bar more often than not. Beth only left yesterday, but Quinn feels like it's been weeks. When she's drunk, she won't have deal with what's really going on.

Until now, of course.

As soon as their eyes lock, Quinn feels like she's in the middle of a shoot down in an old Western movie. Quinn remembers the feeling of the vibration of her phone, and the beat of the music from the speakers seem to have the same effect on her body as it trembles. Quinn feels annoyed for half of a second once she's able to realize that she's had way too many tequila shots that night.

His arms wrap around Quinn's shoulders and it startles her out of her thoughts. Quinn feels overwhelmed, trying to shake the thoughts out of her mind. It doesn't make sense that the both of them would be so close to the same place, so close to _her_, practically within a day of each other. Quinn can't wrap her mind around it, and she isn't sure if it's because of the tequila or if it actually doesn't make any sense.

"Quinn?"

There's the flash of dark hair in front of her eyes, and she realizes that the Mohawk is _still there. _He never shaved it off, not even after all of these years. His hazel eyes have some sort of emotion in them, but Quinn can't focus on that. All she can see are _her _eyes, exact replicas of his.

This shouldn't be happening.

"What?" Quinn gets out. She wants to ask him what he's doing here, what he's been doing all these years, if he's married or has had other kids. But none of that will come out.

Quinn can feel him cupping her cheeks and feeling her forehead, but she can't see him. The colors are blurring together and he looks like a bunch of pixels flying across a television screen, even though she knows that it's him.

Quinn wants to tell him that he's fine, and that he should stop touching her, but the room feels like its spinning so much. She wonders if this is how the Wicked Witch of the East felt when the house smashed her to death, and she starts to feel sick.

Quinn can hear different voices speaking to each other, and she tries to remember if she came here alone or if one of the girls came here with her. Quinn leans down on the counter and rests her head, feeling some of the pressure come off. She knows that if Santana and Britt are here she's never going to hear the end of all of the tequila shots. Never.

In a few seconds Quinn feels like she's flying, and she starts to worry that she's being taken up in a tornado. She loosens her grip on the piece of cloth that she had been holding, guessing that it had to be someone's shirt. She's not sure how she feels anymore, but she knows that she's safe when she feels the pair of strong arms holding her.

Quinn wonders if he knows.

Why would he know? He wasn't here.

But he was friendlier with Shelby. She would tell him if something was going on.

But she died in a car crash…

Still.

He probably knew.

But if he did, why was Beth living on the streets of Manhattan?

"Beth." Quinn declares, clutching the shirt tightly. She feels the change of body language once she says the word, and she wonders if she should tell him. Either way, there's no going back now. She feels like she's hung-over already, and she just wants to have a word vomit, only the words won't come out the way that she wants them to.

"What about Beth?" He answers; pausing at what Quinn feels like is a door. She hopes that this is her apartment, because she really wants to sleep in her bed tonight. She can hear other voices speaking, so she knows that she isn't alone. They sound feminine, so she hopes that they are Santana and Britt and not pimps that he is dragging her to.

She knows that he would never do that, not in a million years. She remembers back in high school when he always tried to play it cool, but she knows that he isn't as tough as he would like people to think. He was just…

Noah.

"Gone," Quinn is able to get out, and she tugs at Noah's shirt, wanting him to understand. She knows that she won't be able to tell him the whole story, and it's because she would either break down in tears or she wouldn't be able to speak.

"Baby, she's been gone."

Quinn isn't sure if he's referring to her being gone since yesterday, or if he's referring to her being gone since she was two. She wonders where "baby" came from, because Noah was never one for terms of affection.

She wasn't sure how he acted around people that he hadn't seen or spoken to since their daughter moved to New York with her adopted mother, however.

"No," Quinn mumbles. She needs him to understand, but when she tries to turn her head towards him, she feels like she's going to let all of the contents of her stomach out into the open. She hears the sharp speech of someone, and she's almost positive that it has to be Santana. Things are still foggy and unclear, but Santana's voice cuts through the fog like a sharpened blade. She can hear Santana explaining what has gone on the last twenty four hours until she's placed on her bed. As soon as her head hits the pillow, she's out.

* * *

"I've decided your punishment." Amy announced as the door banged open to her office. Beth had been leaning against the large wooden desk while waiting for her foster mother to "cook up her punishment" for running away. Beth tried her hardest not to roll her eyes at her foster mother's flamboyant nature. "You're gonna _scrub every_ _inch _of this _dump_." Amy hissed, towering over Beth's face.

"With _this,_" Amy whipped out a light blue colored toothbrush from behind her back, smirking deviously. Beth blinked before she understood. "That's _my _toothbrush! I have to put that it my _mouth!" _Beth exclaimed incredulously, reaching for the toothbrush. Amy was quick to pull it away and hold it above Beth's head. "Aren't you just glad you left?" She smiled, and Beth stared down at the floor. She noticed that Amy had added about four inches to her normal height with the size of her heals.

Beth's view was redirected when Amy grabbed Beth's chin with her claws and pulled her head up from the ground. "I asked you a question." Amy stated, her beady eyes narrowing.

Beth had always been told that she was defiant, too much for her own good. "Yes, I am." She responded with a cheeky smile. In a second, but felt as if she had seen a clap of lighting, and she was on the ground. She didn't have to look up at Amy to be able to tell that she had been slapped. If Beth was stronger, she would've fought back, but she was too weak right now. She couldn't believe that she had just found her mother, her biological mother who actually _wanted _her, but Beth wasn't allowed to stay with her.

"Your father will be in to give you his side of the punishment in a minute." Beth can hear Amy hiss from above her, and she winces. All of the children in the Hunter home knew that Amy's punishments were nothing compared to Oliver Hunter's punishments. Sure, he didn't put nearly as much thought into his punishments as Amy did, but he didn't need to. Throwing someone down a stairwell or spanking them with a belt didn't take much thought.

Beth winces when she remembers everyone's faces when they saw all of the bruises and cuts on her body. She remembers when Oliver was particularly angry one night and started to cut her skin with a pocket knife. She can still remember the burning sensation that she felt while her skin was being cut, and the sharp pain that she felt once it was over.

Hopefully, Oliver was in a good mood today.

She hears the loud thud of the door once it is slammed closed, and the loud footsteps of Oliver's work boots as the thuds make their way closer to her body. She can't help the shivers that spread throughout her body, even though she isn't cold.

Oliver Hunter is a man of few words, but many actions. He doesn't waste time with pleasantries, just rips the shirt off of Beth's frail body. Beth is quick to wrap her arms around herself, though she isn't sure what for. It isn't as if it is cold in the office, but her skinny arms aren't going to do much to protect her from Oliver. She sneaks a glace up towards the large man and almost lets out a sigh of relief when she sees that he's taking off his belt. It isn't something to be cheering about, because she's still going to be getting hurt, but it's better than all of the other stuff that Oliver could have decided to do.

"You're fifteen. You get thirty." His loud, even voice declares. He rolls Beth over so that her back is exposed to him. Beth tries to struggle, but she knows that it isn't any use. She feels embarrassed with the cream colored bra that Quinn gave her on, because she can't tell if Oliver is looking up there or not. She knows that he wouldn't feel bad about doing something disgusting along those lines.

Beth is so caught up in her own thoughts that she doesn't have time to brace herself before the first blow lands to her back. She lets out a cry, which she strives never to do, no matter how painful punishment can be. Oliver is being merciful today, because the blows land quicker than they usually would have. Beth wonders if he has a date or something to go to, but the feeling of lighting zapping her back distracts her. Beth counts out each of the lashings as they land down on her back. It's the rule.

Oliver slams the belt onto Beth's back for the thirtieth time, and the teenager is quick to curl her body up into the fetal position, digging her teeth into her bottom lip. She remembers that she is supposed to call out the number and is quick to exclaim "Thirty!" but is horrified when the belt lands down on her back once more. "You missed. We're starting over."

Beth squeezes her eyes shut and digs her fingernails into her arms once the blows start arriving again, and is sure to scream out the numbers this time. Beth can't help the tears that are now rolling down her cheeks and the sobs that she struggles not to emit.

_Where are you, Quinn?_

* * *

**This was just a sad chapter. Puck came back, though! Next chapter Quinn and Beth with be back together again, and it won't be so totally depressing.**

**Sorry that I haven't updated in about a week. School started back up, so updates will probably only be on Fridays, or the weekends. I just have to say that as I was writing this I was all "Writing, Sipping Coffee, Reading, Blinking, Check Reviews, and Feeling Inspired!" **

**So the reviews are totally awesome, and when I'm having late night writing sessions they really help. Thanks guys.**

**Thanks to:**

_**randomly-hyper8711- **_**Thank you! I'm glad that my story pulled you in. I actually like Sebastian, and that's why I wanted him to be somewhat nicer in this story. I'm glad that you like it!**

_**FinchelQuick34: **_**Oh my goodness back at you! (I'm lame.) I love your story **_**Beside You **_**and I've left anonymous reviews on it because I'm so horrible… I was kind of inspired by that story to write this story. It's so amazing that you read and reviewed for one, but that you actually like it! I'm so excited!**

_**WolvenPrincess**_**: I'm glad that it was sweet! The interaction on the show between them was sweet, and I hope that I had that effect!**

_**gleeothfriends90210cccjsAMD**_**: This was a little scary to copy, lol, but you're review makes it worthwhile. Amy does suck, and Puck was here, even though it was Quinn's POV and he's drunk so you didn't really get a lot of him.**

_**mskatara43**_**: Good for you! I'm glad that this was one of your first :) I'm honestly not sure how long this story will be. I guess I'll just roll with the flow. Once you plan out a number of chapters the characters are all "Oh, no! We're not ready to leave! We have more of the story to tell!" so we'll see.  
PS if Katara is for Avatar the Last Airbender then we have much to discuss ;)**

**_Chloe_: Thank you!**

**_M_: I try!**

**_Guest_: I'm so grateful that you think this is perfect! You don't understand how much of a compliment that is to me **

**_Guest_ 2: (I added the 2 because there was more than one guest. You guys know what you wrote.) I'm glad that you love it!**

**_Littleredwritinggleek_: Oh, um, uh… one of those wishes might be true!**

**So I hope that this chapter didn't bother anyone too much and I'm so sorry if it did. There won't be any more of this in the story; it was just here so that everyone got an understanding of what was going on in the foster home.**

**So what did you guys think?**


	4. Chapter 4

**All mistakes are mine.**

* * *

Quinn wakes up to the familiar pounding in her head and groans when she remembers last night. She remembers not to sit up right away and slowly moves her head upward, craning her neck so that she could see out through her opened bedroom door. She can't see anyone and wonders if everyone left last night. She's still in her clothes from yesterday, so she knows that what happened couldn't have been a dream.

Quinn makes the mistake of walking into the kitchen, where Santana guards the cabinets like a hawk. There was no way that Quinn was going to get to the Tylenol now.

"Hey, champ!" Santana practically screams into Quinn's ear, making the blonde wince. She knew that this was coming; she just didn't know that Santana was still here. If she had known she would've stayed in bed for the rest of the day.

"Can you just give me the Tylenol already? I don't feel like talking right now." Quinn mumbles, resting her head on the cold granite of the island as she sits down. Santana's eyebrows shoot up so fast that they look like they were going to fly off of her face. "Are you serious right now? You don't _feel _like it right now? Well maybe we didn't feel like picking up your sorry_ drunk _ass from that bar! Maybe Puck didn't feel like carrying you all the way back-"

Santana's mouth clamps shut as soon as she realizes what she just said. Quinn finds her head rising from the table. "So he really _is_ here?" Quinn repeats, looking from Britt to Santana for confirmation. Santana folds her arms and suddenly becomes very interested in the tile work in the kitchen while Britt turns towards her bag and hands Quinn a bottle of Advil.

"You should work on taking Advil and not Tylenol for a hangover. The acetaminophen in Tylenol isn't good for your liver after heavy drinking." Britt points out with a quirked eyebrow. Quinn wonders why Britt was suddenly using gigantic words in her sentences now because she's sure that she can remember the day in college when her friend vowed never to do so, but she brushes the thought aside.

"Where is he?" Quinn asks, ignoring the glass of water that Brittney placed in front of her. Santana gives her wife a sideways glance and seems to be having a silent conversation with her. After a few moments, Britt breaks eyes contact and turns to Quinn. "Take the pills." She commands, shrugging on her coat. "I'll be right back."

* * *

Quinn doesn't understand why she feels so nervous, because it's not like it's such a big deal that she's going to see Noah again. Technically, she's already seen him, or he's seen her at least. Santana has already told him about the situation with Beth, and assured Quinn that he didn't seem angry at her. It wasn't Quinn's fault anyway, Santana had reminded her. But here Quinn was, sitting on the couch in her living room with her leg tapping impatiently.

Britt was supposed to be getting him, and Quinn knew that she had probably only been gone for a little while, but it felt like _hours. _"Easy there, Tiger." Santana smirked, noticing her friend's anxiousness. Quinn rolled her eyes and walked over to her desk and pulled out her laptop. Ever since Beth was born Quinn had always found it relaxing to write. It didn't matter what she was writing; she just needed to get her ideas out in the open. She was aware of the fact that Santana was staring at her for the first couple of minutes, mumbling something about the _Times _and their writing nuts. Eventually she was gone, leaving Quinn to her own devices.

It probably was little odd that Quinn knew exactly when Santana left the room, but didn't notice when Britt walked in with Puck trailing behind her. She was absorbed in her writing and didn't notice anything else.

"Busy?" His voice rumbled behind her, and Quinn jumped before turning to see Noah smiling down at her. Now that she could see clearly she realized that he hadn't really changed at all since she'd last seen him in high school. He still had his Mohawk and those beautiful hazel eyes that Quinn used to get lost in…

"Quinn?" Puck repeated, snapping Quinn out of her trance. "Oh," Quinn blinked a few times before shutting her laptop and standing up from her desk. "How are you?" Puck repeated, looking cautious. Quinn found herself blinking excessively once more and realized that Santana and Britt just so happened to have disappeared. Quinn was definitely not in the position in her life to have a boyfriend. She had her job to worry about, and now Beth. Quinn reminded herself to kill them later.

"Did you really just ask me that? Do you even care?" Quinn asked sharply. She knew that Puck didn't deserve it, but she couldn't have him lingering around if he didn't really care about what was going on. It wouldn't be good for Beth, she reminded herself. Quinn watched guilty as Puck's dazzling smile turned into a frown. "I'm asking because I actually want to know, Quinn." He answered, sounding far less snappy than Quinn. "We haven't seen each other in years."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Well I'm not exactly the hard one to find, am I? You, on the other hand, are always jumping around. You're impossible to find." She interrupted. Puck looked increasingly annoyed with every word that she spoke, but she watched as his face melted back into his famous smirk. "You've looked for me?" He repeated, now really asking a question. Quinn bit down on her lip and cursed herself. She should've been smart enough not to let that slip out.

"That's not what I said." Quinn protested weakly, but Puck knew that he had won. "How long did you look for me, Quinn?" He asked in a sing song voice. "How old are you anyway, twelve? You're so annoying and immature. You haven't changed at all." Quinn groaned. "Well, you're still blonde and uptight." Puck paused, before turning towards the bottle of Advil on the coffee counter. "Well, you weren't completely uptight on Thursday…" He smirked, making Quinn's eyes grow wide.

"That was _you?_" She exclaimed; looking quite disgusted with herself. She would never let Puck know that she actually had a nice time on Thursday. From what she could remember from that night, anyway.  
Puck rolled his eyes. "Don't act so surprised. I know how to charm a lady."

"Yeah, sure you do. Let's just hope that you figured out how to use a condom this time." Quinn huffed. Puck's eyebrows rose as if he hadn't been expecting Quinn to bring that up. "How is she?" He asked, this time his voice softer. Quinn bit her lip, gesturing for Puck to take a seat next to her on the couch. "Shelby died in a car crash when she was seven. She's been in and out of foster homes ever since." Quinn said bluntly, not wanting to give details. She knew that Puck deserved to know just as much as she, but she couldn't bear to think about her Perfect Thing having to live on the streets.

Puck clasped his hands together and looked thoughtful as he stared down at the colorful carpeting that was in Quinn's living room. "Do you know anything about the family that she's with now?" He asked slowly. "Yeah," Quinn sighed. "Her foster mom is this woman named Amy Hunter and then there's her husband Oliver. They live in Brooklyn, which really isn't that far from here." She explained, using all of the information that she had been given from Sebastian.

"They have five other kids. One is their biological daughter, and the rest are foster kids." Quinn added as an afterthought, but Puck didn't seem to be care about that extra detail. "Does she still remember us?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper. Quinn hesitated before nodding. "She remembered me, so I'm sure that she'll remember you." She reassured him gently. Puck shook his head. "But what if she doesn't?" He protested. Quinn shook her head. "You had more visits with her after high school, remember? I stopped seeing her when I went to Yale, and she still remembered me. She'll probably remember you more."

Puck let out a shaky breath, and Quinn could tell that he was feeling overly emotional just taking everything in. Noah wasn't someone who liked to cry in front of an audience; that was something that Quinn knew for a fact. "Anything else about the foster parents?" Puck asked, trying to change the subject. Quinn shrugged. "They have a pretty good reputation, even though Beth didn't seem like she wanted to leave with Amy when she came to get her. CPS is going to give them a warning because Beth was on the streets, but she has a different social worker now and they are going to monitor her more."

Quinn turned to Puck, whose eyes were squeezed shut. "You alright?" She asked softly, pressing a hesitant hand on his back. Puck was silent for a moment before nodding. "It just makes me sick, you know? I mean, she's an amazing kid. Those foster parents better be good to her."

Quinn nodded understandingly. "I know exactly what you mean. Everyone kept on telling me that she was going to be fine, and that's she's lucky because her foster parents are so great, but it doesn't make me feel any less uneasy about the whole thing." She sighed. "I just wish Shelby could've left her to one of us in her will or something. That would've made things so much easier.

"Can we see her?" Puck asked after a beat. Quinn paused. "I don't see why not. Amy did say that I could have visits with her, and we can ask to see if you can tag along." Quinn joked. Puck cast a wary eye over to look at her. "That wasn't funny."

* * *

"I'm sorry, but I _still _don't understand why you're going to be included in these 'visits'." Amy protested once more. Puck was about to step in, but Quinn noticed the familiar hardening of his jaw and interjected before he could. "We already spoke to Beth's social worker, Danielle Stanton, about it, and she told us that there shouldn't be a problem." Quinn mustered up a fake smile and watched Amy's eyes roll before she disappeared back inside of the large home.

"What crawled up that bitch's ass and died?" Puck asked, and Quinn slapped his chest. "Noah! There are children around!" She scolded him, gesturing to the kids that ran around the in the street and front yard. "Shouldn't she be outside? You know, actually _watching _these kids?" Puck hissed, and Quinn sighed. She wanted to tell Noah to stop judging, but the truth was that everything seemed a little off to her as well.

Beth sighed when she saw the large welts left on her back from her punishment. The good thing about spankings were that no one saw them if she wore the right clothes, so she wouldn't have to worry about wearing enough makeup. Beth didn't have a whole lot to choice from, but ended up wearing a longed sleeved t shirt and a pair of jeans. She left her long dirty blonde hair down so that it would cover the bruises that traveled up her neck.

Beth was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice her name being called multiple times. She was finally snapped out of her trance when Amanda, one of the other girls that the Hunters fostered, pushed her shoulder playfully. Amanda was only ten, but she understood what it meant when Beth winced and sucked in a breath when Amanda didn't even hit her that hard.

"Was it bad?" She asked quietly. She noticed that Beth got that faraway look in her eye before she nodded. "What's up?" Beth asked quickly, steering the subject of the conversation away from herself. "Amy said to come downstairs right now. There is a lady and a man outside who want to see you." Amanda winked before jumping down the stairs.

* * *

"You came!" Beth found herself smiling widely before she launched herself into Quinn's arms. She couldn't even feel the bruises anymore. Quinn squeezed her back and Beth is sure that Quinn would have turned the girl around, but there was another person here. "Beth this is Noah. He's your-"

"My dad. Puck, right?" Beth asked, squinting at Puck as if he were an old movie she hadn't seen in a while. Puck's eyes lit up. "That's me." He nodded, trying to remain nonchalant, even though Quinn was sure that Beth had made his day. "How are ya, squirt?" Puck asked as he checked over his daughter's body for any signs of mistreatment from the family. He didn't see any right away, but that didn't mean that he was going to give up.

"I'm great, now that you guys are here." Beth found that she couldn't stop herself from smiling, even if she wanted to. Not only was her biological mother her, but her biological father as well. She smirked when she saw that her father had a Mohawk, the one that he was rocking in the pictures that she had of him. "What?" Puck asked, noticing his daughter staring at him. "Did I cut myself shaving or something?" He asked, and Beth giggled. "Nice hair," She complimented.

Before Puck could answer, Amy came barreling out of the house. "She needs to be back by five, no exceptions. No candy or crap, either. She doesn't have room to put anything, and too much food isn't good for her." She spat coldly, all while smiling widely. "Hope that you have a nice time."

* * *

"So, Beth," Quinn started as the small group began walking down the sidewalk. Beth had pep in her step that Quinn hadn't seen before, almost as if Beth were a bird that had just been set free from its cage. "What do you want to do today?"

"I don't really care. I'm just glad that I was able to get out of the house." Beth shrugged. Once she realized how desperate she sounded, she tried to fix it. "I mean, it was pretty boring to just be cooped up in the house all day, you know?" She asked, looking at both of her parents. She knew that Puck was zooned into her, and if Quinn was, she wasn't showing it.

"Great, because we already have somewhere planned." Puck winked at Quinn, who rolled her eyes. "We really don't, Beth. Noah wanted to take you to Coney Island-"

"But it's closed in November! What kind of stupidity is that?" Puck exclaimed loudly, making Beth giggle. "Sometimes I wish that it were warm all year round so that Coney Island would be open all the time, but then I realize that it would never be Christmas." Beth laughed. "You can have Christmas in the heat, Beth. I did it last year, with my brother Jake and his girlfriend Marley." Puck pointed out.

Beth shrugged. "I know, but I love winter here. You should see it, Puck. I'm sure that you'd love it." Beth smiled, walking slightly ahead of her parents. "Maybe I will. I'll be here for a while."

"I thought you were on vacation." Quinn quirked an eyebrow, and Puck smirked at her. "When did I say that? I moved here a couple of weeks ago." Puck explained. Quinn smiled a real smile this time. She was sure that she and Puck weren't going to get together again, but they had Beth again, and she was always good at bringing people together. Quinn sighed internally. She knew that she wasn't stable enough for a relationship right now.

"You have such a beautiful family." An old woman smiled as the group passed by. Quinn opened her mouth to correct her, but Puck smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

The old woman smiled. "I remember my dear late husband." She looked thoughtful for a moment, before her eyes swept over Beth and Quinn. "No one seems to stay together these days, not even my son and his wife." She paused. "You take care of that pretty wife and daughter of yours, you hear?" The woman smiled before walking off.

Beth's eyebrows rose when she looked towards Quinn and Puck, but she didn't say anything. Beth could tell from their awkward body language that they weren't actually together- not _yet _anyway. With the help of Santana and Brittany she was sure that she could get these two back together.

Quinn was about to ask Puck why he let the woman think that she was his wife, but stopped when Puck grabbed her hand and pointed to Beth's back. Quinn felt aggravated and tried to rip her hand away, but Puck pulled her hand and pointed towards what he was staring at, making Quinn freeze.

Underneath Beth's hair was a black and blue bruise the size of a baseball glove.

* * *

**Yay! Puck is back! There'll be more romance a little later…**

**Did this chapter move too fast? Did you guys feel confused at all? I hope that it was good. I want to be able to fit a lot, but I don't want the story to drag.**

**Thanks to:**

_**KatieHaller**_**: I'm glad that you do!**

_**gleeothfriends90210cccjsAMD**_**: I know, Puck is awesome! Don't change your username if you don't want to!**

_**randomly-hyper8711**_**: Thank you so much! And I hope that there was more Puck in here for you… ;)**

_**mskatara43**_**: Oh, I have to PM you! It's an awesome show, but I don't like the Legend of Korra. And thank you!**

_**marine04**_**: Thank you! I love the funky disco ball that you have as your profile pic ;)**

_**olacindy**_**: I love the way that you said Beth's fate. But I'm glad that you're excited!**

_**Gleekalwaysand4ever**_**: Thank you! I'm glad that you found it!**

_**FinchelQuick34**_**: Thank you so much! The descriptive words come from hours of English homework, lol. Yeah, I actually was reading Beside You last night, too, because I wanted some inspiration. Writer's block definitely sucks :/  
And I'm glad that this is your favorite Quicketh story! That's **_**awesome!**_

_**Xanidoo**_**: Thank you!**

_**Quickgirl75**_**: I'm so glad that you think that I have talent! That's awesome!**

_**miss agron**_**: If only life were that easy… ;D**

_**Chloe**_**: ;D**

_**iShipQuick**_**: Amy is a bitch, but she's gonna get put in her place later… **

_**littleredwritinggleek**_**: I'm glad that you think it wasn't over the top! Things will get better soon ;)**

_**cpfalmeida**_**: I'm sorry that it was painful for you to read :(  
But I'm glad that you love the story!**

_**CAS**_**: I'm glad to say that they were all together again! I fulfilled your wish!**

_**Readbetweenthesigns**_**: Here's another chapter then :)**

**And I have to say that the best part of you guys reviewing is that you just say awesome things. You're all awesome :D **


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry that I haven't been updating! Things have been going on with my family lately, so I haven't been able to write.**

**Mistakes are all mine.**

* * *

_Underneath Beth's hair was a black and blue bruise the size of a baseball glove._

Seemingly having no control over her own body, Quinn reached out to gently touch the bruise. It was as if she were trapped in a dreamlike state, and touching the bruise was the only thing that would make it seem real to her.

Beth jumped once she felt the movement on the back of her neck. She quickly smacked Quinn's hand away as she whirled around to face her parents. She would've made a snide comment, but she noticed their expressions. Quinn looked as if someone had kicked her puppy, no, someone had _shot _her puppy. Puck was stone faced, but Beth felt uncomfortable now that the goofy smile had evaporated from his face.

"Beth," Puck spoke, his voice eerily quiet. "Who did this?" Beth's eyebrows furrowed. What had Quinn and Puck seen that had changed their moods entirely? She scanned her mind to try and remember anything that she might have done… Quinn had touched her neck. Beth's lip began to tremble when she realized that they had probably seen something. Was it a cut, a bruise? One of the yellowish looking ones, or the fresh black ones? Would they tell anyone? If they did, Oliver would kill her, for real this time. Even if she was able to run away again, he would find her…

"Beth!" Puck snapped loudly, causing fear to fill in the young girl's eyes. Before Puck could comfort her, Beth had erupted into loud sobs.

Puck's eyes grew wide with guilt and sorrow as he tried to reach out towards his daughter. Beth began to shake her head, wrapping her arms around her small body and bracing herself. Quinn felt herself to shake at the sight of daughter breaking down, and gently guided Beth off of the side walk with Puck following behind silently.

"I-I-I'm s-s-sor-ry," Beth gasped in between her sobs. She still wouldn't make eye contact with either of her parents, not knowing what their reactions would be like. They could send her back to her foster parents without a thought, or send her to a new foster family. She held her face in her hands, trying to hide her sobs. Quinn didn't know if Beth would push her away, but she instinctively reached out and wrapped her arms around the shaking girl, not knowing what else to do.

"Don't cry, baby, don't cry. I'm so sorry baby; don't cry." Quinn soothed, hoping that she didn't sound as frantic as she felt. She ran her fingers through Beth's golden ringlets, rocking her body back and forth. She couldn't imagine who could ever hurt someone like her Little Thing, how anyone could ever hurt a child like this at all. She tried to erase the memory of the ugly bruise that marked her daughter's skin, but it grew more difficult as she realized that there may be more bruises under Beth's clothing.

Puck watched as Quinn was able to soothe their daughter so perfectly, pushing down the twinge of jealousy that he felt. Back when Beth had been a toddler, Puck was the one that was good with her. He imagined the way that he was feeling now, helpless and irrelevant, was the way that Quinn felt so many years ago.

"A-ar-are you a-angry?" Beth's small voice spoke once more, and Puck realized that she was speaking to him. "Aw, how could I be mad at _you?" _Puck asked, reminding himself to keep his voice quiet and soft. He slowly inched towards Beth, ignoring all of the pedestrians that stared at the small group as they would stroll past the scene.

Puck squatted down so that Beth could see him as he spoke. "I could _never _be mad at you, Beth. You know that, right?" He asked softly. Beth's sobs had quieted down, and she sucked in quick breaths as she tried to calm herself down. The girl shrugged and was still attached to Quinn, but turned her head so that she would be able to make eye contact with Puck as he spoke to her.

"I'm only mad at whoever did this to you." Puck tried to explain while keeping his eyes glued to Beth's, ignoring the blotchy red spots on her face, not wanting to admit to himself that he might have been the cause to Beth's tears. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself and keep the anger out of his voice. He didn't want Beth to think that the emotions were directed towards her.

"We need to know who did this, so that we can help you." Puck tried, noticing how Beth suddenly averted her eyes. "I-it was n-no one. I-I just t-tripped." Beth mumbled into Quinn's body. Quinn bit her lip as Puck looked at her helplessly. She reluctantly took a small step back and unwrapped Beth's arms from around her body. "Honey, we need to know. We can help you, and get you away from whoever is hurting you." She tried, gripping Beth's hands in her own.

Quinn knew that it had to be Oliver or Amy. She knew it. She just needed Beth to confirm it.

Beth let out a squeak as she focused on the ground. "I-I can't say. H-he'll k-kill me if I do." Beth's voice shook as she spoke, and Puck noticed that she had begun to tremble once more. "He's not going to touch you. Not ever again." Puck spoke suddenly and fiercely, surprising both Quinn and Beth. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Beth." He added; his voice softer this time. Quinn noticed the raw emotion that was evident in Puck's voice. "Neither of us will, honey." Quinn promised.

Beth shook her head as she felt the tears roll down her cheeks yet again. She reached over and grabbed one of Puck's hands, before sighing shakily. "I get disciplined by Amy and Oliver."

Quinn's eyebrows rose while Puck struggled to keep a blank face. "H-how, honey?" Quinn asked, trying to keep her voice steady. Beth shrugged weakly. "Different ways every time. Sometimes I get hit, o-or slapped, or I get the belt…once I went down the stairs. That's how I broke my leg." Beth finished; her voice barely above a whisper.

The group stood in silence. Quinn was still trying to take in what Beth had just said. Even though she had suspected that something was going on with Beth's foster parents when she had first met Amy, but hearing Beth confirm her thoughts made it all seem a little too real.

"P-Puck…you're hurting me." Beth whimpered while gesturing to the hand that Puck held in a death grip. Puck was feeling like a failure. He had been feeling this was when Finn thought that he was Beth's father, but this time it was a little stronger. If he had been a little smarter, moved to New York sooner like Quinn, or done _something, _maybe Beth wouldn't be going through this pain. He couldn't help but feel like he was the cause of her pain, especially after he realized that he had basically been crushing her hand in his own. "I-I," Puck breathed, but Beth shook her head. "It's okay." She whispered, flashing him a watery smile, though she looked apprehensive. "Baby…" Quinn choked back tears. Beth shook her head. "It's okay, it's okay." She tried. She didn't want either of her parents breaking down on her. She needed them to be her rocks.

"T-they said it would teach me a lesson. But the only thing that I've really learned is how to block." Beth chuckled humorlessly, and Puck's jaw clenched. "You said it was your foster parents?" He checked, and Beth nodded slowly. "Yeah… Amy and Oliver Hunter." She clarified.

Puck gave a quick jerk of a nod before he led Beth down the sidewalk, motioning for Quinn to follow them. "Where are we going?" Quinn asked, hurrying to catch up.

* * *

"I'm gonna kill them, Quinn. I'm gonna rip out his balls and make sure that he can never stand straight again. I'm gonna _make_ sure that they feel everything that Beth has to go through!" Puck slammed his fist down into the coffee table once more. As soon as the group had arrived back at Quinn's apartment, Quinn had sent Beth to pack up some clothes from Quinn's closet while Puck unleashed his rage.

"The _sick_ son of a _bitch_!" Puck exclaimed loudly, snapping of the table legs in half. Quinn made a mental note and reminded herself that she would need to clean up the living room, but didn't say anything. She knew that this was the only way that Puck knew how to get his anger out, while she would handle her emotions differently.

"Puck," Quinn started, but Puck was still lost in his own thoughts as his kicked the remains of the Quinn's table across the room. "I'm going to _kill_ them!" He announced again. His knuckles were red, and Quinn couldn't tell if she could see blood. His face was an odd shade of purple.

Quinn sighed, nodding again as tears rolled down her face. "I know, I know. I want to kill them, too." She sighed shakily. It still didn't seem real. She couldn't wrap her mind around the idea of someone hurting her Perfect Thing. She could feel her lip trembling as she spoke. "She's not even a couple of feet away. You'll scare her." Quinn reminded Puck.

Puck stopped destroying Quinn's table, but he was still trembling, as if he would burst at any moment. "She needs to know that she can trust us, Noah. We need to be strong for her." Quinn spoke softly as she moved closer to Puck. Puck let out a large sigh, and collapsed onto the couch. "I just feel like I'm the reason that her life has been so messed up," Puck sighed into his hands. "I think that we both feel that way," Quinn said as she took a seat next to Puck on the couch. "But we can't change anything that happened in the past. All we can do now is try to make sure that her future is the best that it can be."

Puck groaned, but Quinn noticed the small smile on his face. "That doesn't really make it that much better." He commented, and Quinn shrugged as she wiped away her tears. "I figured that it was better than nothing."

* * *

"Is Puck still mad at me?" Beth asked tentatively from her spot at the kitchen island. Quinn whirled around from the stove, where she was stirring spaghetti sauce. She couldn't really focus on cooking right now, not with Puck outside arguing with Beth's social worker. "He was never mad at you, sweetie." Quinn sighed, offering Beth a weak smile.

"I don't want you guys to get into trouble. It really isn't a big deal…" Beth lied through her teeth, but Quinn shook her head. "We'll be fine, Beth. You don't need to worry about it." Quinn could tell that something was going wrong, though. Just from taking a look from Puck, who stood out on the terrace in the midst of a thunderstorm while screaming into the phone, she knew that they were going to have some problems.

"You can't tell me that this is normal! You should _at least _look into it!" The girls could hear Puck screaming loudly. "I don't like it when he yells." Beth mumbled while moving her ice pack from the back of her neck to her shin. As soon as they got back to the apartment, Quinn had found two ice packs in the back of her freezer and convinced Beth to ice her injuries, after Quinn took pictures of them. Beth didn't want Quinn anywhere near her with a camera phone, but once Quinn explained that the pictures were needed in order to get Beth out of the foster home, Beth had reluctantly gone along with it.

"I know, sweetie. I do too." Quinn sighed, turning back to the spaghetti sauce.

"Do you need any help?" Beth asked hopefully. "You should really sit and ice those before they get worse, Beth." Quinn pointed out for what felt like the hundredth time in the same hour. "How are they going to get worse? They aren't infected or anything-" Beth was interrupted by Puck storming back into the room.

"She said that we could be arrested for taking Beth home and not returning her to her foster parents." Puck announced, anger and frustration evident in his eyes. "Didn't you tell her about the bruises?" Quinn asked, sounding confused. Puck rolled his eyes. "She said that she'll be over to 'check out our story' but she has another appointment, and she's going to be a while."

"You can't let her take me back. They'll kill me." Beth cut in frantically. The girl's eyes had grown so that they were about a mile wide. "Beth," Puck started, but Beth interrupted him. "They'll _kill_ me." She stressed, looking wild and frightened.

Quinn would've moved to comfort the girl, but there was a booming sound from the door. "NYPD! OPEN UP! WE KNOW THAT BETH CORCORAN IS IN THERE! OPEN UP!"

* * *

**I feel all bad now, because it started off with them going on an outing together and ending with a visit from the NYPD, among others…. ;)**

**Thanks to:**

_**randomly-hyper8711**_**: I hope that Beth doesn't have to go back and live with them either! I can't wait to see what happens next!**

_**Ellii51**_**: I'm glad that you like it!**

_**Littleredwritinggleek**_**: She does! She needs to get out! **

_**iShipQuick**_**: Oh, you **_**know **_**that Puck will put them in their place ;)**

_**Chloe**_**: Thank you!**

_**Olacindy**_**: There's nothing that Beth cannot achieve!**

_**CAS**_**: I'm so glad that you love it! And ahhh I love babies but I'm not so sure about right now… ;)  
They'll make sure that she won't go back. Or, at least, they'll do everything in their power to make sure that she doesn't have to…**

_**Quick1329**_**: Awww! I remember when I used to read instead of studying! But then I started failing, lol. I hope that I didn't cause you to do badly on your tests! I'm so flattered, though! Thank you!**

_**Ddollfacedd**_**: Aw, thank you! I'm so glad that you love this story!**

_**Jordan of 2013**_**: Thank you so much! I love your use of vocabulary! :D**

**I probably won't update this weekend, because I have my family issues, but I'll try to shoot for next weekend! **

**So, thoughts, anyone…?**


	6. Chapter 6

**I apologize in advance if the events that occur in this chapter aren't exactly realistic. I'm basing most of it on cop shows that I've seen on TV and this awesome review from **_**BMontague **_**that gave me more background information. **

* * *

_Quinn would've moved to comfort the girl, but there was a booming sound from the door. "NYPD! OPEN UP! WE KNOW THAT BETH CORCORAN IS IN THERE! OPEN UP!"_

Quinn felt as though she was frozen, and she couldn't move to open the door even if she wanted to. Beth's eyes darted around the room widely, looking for places to hide. She knew that the police wouldn't hesitate to take her back to her foster parents, the same way they had last time. A wild banging on the door caused Beth to shoot up from her seat in fear. "MR. PUCKERMAN AND MS. FABRAY OPEN THE DOOR _NOW _OR WE WILL HAVE TO MAKE OUR WAY IN FORCEFULLY."

Quinn felt as if everything was in slow motion, but fast passed at the same time. Puck made his way over to the door of the apartment, and Quinn watched as two officers forced their way into the apartment once the door was opened. "We are here to arrest you for the kidnapping of Mr. and Mrs. Hunter's foster daughter Beth Corcoran," One of the officers boomed. The other officer began listing off their rights.

"Get your hands off of me!" Puck commanded, shrugging out of the officer's grip. "We didn't freaking kidnap _anyone_. You should get your facts straight."

The older looking officer narrowed his eyes. "Mr. Puckerman, contain yourself." He warned with raised eyebrows. "We were having a visit with her, officer, and we saw bruises on her neck. She said that they were from her foster parents, and we decided that we would not be bringing her back." Quinn piped up from her spot behind the counter, hoping that she didn't sound as shaky as she felt. She would be damned if the police took her Perfect Thing back to those monsters. As far as she was concerned, Beth wasn't leaving her sight.

"DAMN STRAIGHT!" Puck snapped from his spot near the door. The older cop's head snapped back towards Puck, giving him a withering look. "One more outburst, Mr. Puckerman, one more!" He hissed, his face growing redder by the second. The other officer took a step closer to Quinn, making her feel even more uncomfortable, if that was possible. "Ms. Fabray, you realize how serious these allegations are?" He asked quietly, his eyes darting over to Beth as if to convey an unspoken message through his eyes.

The teenage girl was still frozen in place, her eyes widening as Quinn mentioned the bruises to the police. No one was supposed to know about the bruises, and if Beth hadn't been stupid none of this would be happening. Beth knew that she could probably escape out of the apartment through the fire escape if something should go wrong, but she wasn't sure where she could go after that. Living in the streets wasn't exactly as easy as it sounded.

"She's lying!" Amy Hunter exclaimed as she forced her way into the apartment. "My husband and I would _never _do anything to Bethy, and she knows that! She just wants attention!" Amy spat and she made her way over to Beth. Puck held one of his arms out in front of the woman, who was wobbling in her high heels. "You'd better watch yourself, lady." He hissed under his breath, not wanting to scare Beth.

Meanwhile, Quinn noticed that Beth's demeanor changed as soon as the woman forced her way into the apartment. Beth's eyes seemed to be glued to the floor tiles while her quiet breathing morphed into quick hyperventilating. Quinn pulled Beth into her body, hoping that she could shield her daughter from her fears. Beth closed her eyes tightly, breathing in Quinn's scent. She smelt of vanilla and cherries and spaghetti sauce, an odd combination that soothed a startled Beth.

"I wouldn't be making the allegation if I didn't, officer." Quinn remarked while refusing to look at the woman who stood a mere couple of feet away from her, the one that made her daughter's life a living hell. "Beth told us that Amy and Oliver Hunter abuse her on a daily basis, and she has the marks and bruises to prove it." Puck announced, trying to wriggle away from the older officer, who held him by his handcuffs. "You want to arrest me for _kidnapping _when I was just trying to keep _my daughter _from getting hurt, go ahead!"

The younger officer sighed, rubbing his temples while turning to Beth. "Ms. Corcoran, are these allegations that Mr. Puckerman and Ms. Fabray are making true?" He asked; his voice soft. Beth's face was still hidden in Quinn's chest, though she heard the officer asking her the question. The tension in the room grew noticeably thicker when the adults noticed that Beth was nodding into Quinn's chest.

"Ms. Corcoran?" The younger officer repeated, squatting down in front of Beth. "Can you speak to me, please?" He asked gently. Beth bit her lip so hard that she thought that she was drawing blood. If she said anything while Amy was here, Oliver would surely kill her. Puck and Quinn had promised not to let anything happen to her, though. Maybe she could live with them. If she didn't say anything, she would probably have to live with the Hunters again, where her punishments would surely get much worse, but it was what she was used to and she could probably live with it. But then Puck and Quinn would get arrested for something that they didn't do, and that wouldn't be fair. They had their futures out ahead of them.

Which would be worse?

"Noah and I won't let _anything_ happen to you, Beth." Quinn reminded the young girl gently. Beth held her breath, knowing that she was probably making a big mistake, but she opened her mouth anyway.

"It's true. I get disciplined. A lot."

* * *

"We leave you alone for _twenty four hours_, and you almost get arrested." Santana sighed, leaning against the wall while facing Quinn and Puck. "I guess some things just never change, right, Sha-Queer-A?" Sebastian walked up behind the group with a smirk on his face and a clipboard in his arm, Beth's social worker behind him. Puck squinted at Sebastian as if he couldn't believe that the man still existed while Quinn groaned with her head in her hands. "Sebastian, can we not do this right now? We're still waiting for Beth to be examined so that we'll have some proof besides pictures…" Quinn's voice trailed off when Sebastian's smirk widened into a smile. "You're the one that examined her?" Quinn asked warily.

"Nice of you to stop by Danielle," Puck spat sarcastically while trying not to make eye contact with the social worker. The social worker tried not to roll her eyes. "I'm sorry that I couldn't arrive before the confrontation with the police." She apologized half-heartedly. "I have other children that I have to watch out for. It's not all about Beth.

Puck chuckled humorlessly. "Whatever you say."

Quinn watched the exchange silently. She didn't want to jump on Danielle the way that Puck had, but she was pretty angry at the woman herself. If Danielle had showed up before the police had showed up, or simply given Puck some advice while he was trying to get in touch with her on the phone before, there was a chance that this mess would be easier to get out of.

"I don't get it- why are you both here?" Brittany interrupted, looking between Sebastian and Danielle, confusion evident in her eyes. Danielle sighed. "I am Beth's legal representative. I received a call once Mr. Puckerman and Ms. Fabray were taken down to the police station to give their statements and Beth was taken here to be examined." The social worker explained.

"They won't let us in to see her. Does she know that we're here? She must think that we abandoned her or something," Quinn sighed weakly, leaning onto Puck's shoulder. Normally she would be more aware of where she was sitting and resting her head, but right now she felt as though all of her energy had been drained out of her body. Puck noticed Quinn's head on his shoulder, and stared at her out of the corner of his eyes, not saying anything.

Brittany and Santana smiled at each other, knowing that love was blossoming, despite the circumstances at hand.

"Well," Danielle started, but Sebastian interrupted her. "Well I am the one that has the results of her test, but forget about me..." He tapped on the clipboard in his hands with his fingers. "We already _know _what's wrong, Andrew McCarthy." Santana rolled her eyes. Sebastian opened his mouth to reply, but Danielle cut him off. "I want you both to know that I believe you, but we still need a statement from Beth to prove that everything really happened." Danielle leaned against the wall next to Santana.

"She won't talk to anyone." Sebastian offered to the silence, but Puck only rolled his eyes in anger. "Wonder if she would speak to us about it. Guess we'll never know, since no one's allowed in there except for Danielle, according to the nurses." Puck sighed dramatically, causing Quinn a smirk to appear on Quinn's face, but only for a second. She didn't want to be smiling while her daughter was probably confused and worried right now.

Danielle sighed once more, looking over her notes. "I'll see what I can do. We need to get a statement out of her, after all…" She trailed off when she felt the stares of the group of friends on her. She continued to flip through Beth's file. "First we need to get statements from Beth and finish the statements from the rest of the children who were under the care of the Hunters. Right now we know that Beth will be removed from the Hunters' home because of the abuse allegation and the evidence that we have collected to support it, so I'll place her with a new family…" Danielle rattled off.

Puck's head snapped up at the mention of placing Beth with a new family. "We can take her." He offered loudly. "We'll take her, right, Quinn?" He nudged Quinn's shoulder. "Please Danielle, place her with us. You know that we won't do anything to her, not like the Hunters did." Quinn pleaded, tears coming to her eyes. She knew that this was her second chance at having her Beth in her life, and she wasn't going to let it pass by like she did when she was in high school.

"I don't know," Danielle hesitated, noticing the glares coming her way from Sebastian, Brittany, and Santana. "We would probably have to get a Guardian Ad Litem or a CASA attorney for Beth, and then there's the fact that you two were accused of kidnapping her… and how would the both of you take her? Don't you live in different apartments? It wouldn't be good for Beth if she was being bounced back and forth, especially after the trauma that she's endured…"

"They don't have separate apartments; they live together!" Brittany blurted out suddenly, causing everyone's gazes to shift towards her. "W-what?" Danielle asked, turning towards Puck and Quinn, who looked just as confused as everyone else was. Quinn instantly shot up from Puck's shoulder, and Puck's eyes widened. "I mean, it never occurred to me that you two might be in a relationship, I-I…" Danielle trailed off, writing something down in her notes.

"W-well, I, U-uh…" Quinn began, casting a flustered glare towards Brittany, who shrugged but didn't look particularly sorry. She turned to Puck for help to get out of it, but was taken back when Puck gripped her hand in his own. "Yup. We weren't really together in high school, but Beth has a way of bringing us both together, right honey?" He turned to Quinn, begging her to go along with it in his eyes.

Quinn tried to look natural, but her eyes were still as wide as saucers as she nodded. "Y-yeah," She smiled shakily, trying to look natural. Puck turned towards Danielle with a wide smile on his face. "We live together in the same apartment. Beth wouldn't be bounced back and forth at all."

Danielle looked between the couple suspiciously while Sebastian tried to stuff his fist into his mouth in order to keep from laughing from the awkwardness that radiated from the couple. "You two realize that if you're making this up…" Danielle started, but Santana cut her off. "Oh, no, sweetie, this couple is as real as it gets!" Santana exclaimed with a smirk on her face. "I've known them since freshman year in high school, trust me, I'd know."

Danielle paused before turning to look at Puck, who was holding one of Quinn's hands and wrapped his other arm around her shoulders. Both of them had smiles on their faces.

"Well, I guess that I'll see what I can do…" Danielle trailed off, disappearing down the hall.

* * *

"What the _hell _was that?" Quinn snapped as soon as Danielle was gone. She shrugged out of Puck's grip and stood, so that she was in the middle of the group. Brittany shrugged sheepishly while Sebastian erupted into laughter. "You two…" He started, before erupting into laughter once more. "I didn't mean it in _bad _way, I just thought that if she thought you two were together maybe it would be easier for Beth to live with you guys." Brittany explained. Quinn sighed, rubbing her temples. "I don't think that it will be that bad. It's not like she's going to be around to watch our every move." Puck spoke, causing Quinn to whirl around to face him.

"I can't _believe _you!" She exclaimed loudly, causing some people in the hallways to look over. "Why are you yelling at me? I'm just trying to get Beth somewhere where we _know _that she'll be safe. What better place is there for her to be than with her parents?" Puck asked. Quinn groaned, wanting to rip out her hair. "But now we'll have to act… you know, like we're together! And if they find out, then Beth might get taken away from us." Quinn lamented.

"And you could get arrested." Sebastian added from his spot in the corner. Puck's head snapped over so that he could see the doctor. "Don't you have patients to go be with or some shit?" He snapped, but all Sebastian did was smirk. "I'm off the clock. Good thing, too, because I'm very interested in how you two are going to pull off this idea that is just bound to lead to disaster."

"What's so _bad_ about it?" Puck exclaimed. "Don't you get that we're going to have to pretend to be together until Beth is eighteen if we want her to live with us?" Quinn fired back, fury evident in her eyes. Santana scoffed loudly, making Quinn turn around to face her. "Look, Q, I know that it seems all big and horrible now, but it's just three years." She pointed out. Quinn looked as though she wanted to interrupt, but Santana cut her off. "Would you rather your kid get shipped off to another family where you would barely see her, or have her live with you?" She added, making Quinn pause.

"That's not fair." She protested, though she knew that there wasn't much to fight about anymore.

"If it helps, I'm sorry that I said it." Brittany apologized, but Quinn shook her head. "It's not your fault, Britt, not your fault." She sighed, leaning against the wall. "It's just a lot to take it, you know?"

Puck was about to reply, but was interrupted by Danielle, who walked back down the hallway. "Beth would like to have the two of you present while she gives her statement."

* * *

"Oh my God, Beth!" Quinn rushed over to the hospital bed that she was sitting on. Beth looked up and Quinn noticed that there were dried tears on the girl's cheeks. "Quinn!" Beth exclaimed as Quinn wrapped her arms around her Perfect Thing. She held Beth close to her body, as if the girl would slip through her fingers if she didn't hold her tightly enough.

"I was so scared," Quinn heard Beth mumble and she nodded, even though she wasn't sure if the teenager could see her. Puck stood in the doorway, taking in the sight before him. He couldn't help but feel _something_ in his chest, though he wasn't sure what that _something _was.

"Don't I get a hug?" He joked, walking into the hospital room. Beth smiled, wiping tears from her face as she pulled away from Quinn. She stood up from the bed to walk over to Puck, and was surprised when Puck swept her up into his arms and twirled her around. "I can't believe that you told the cops. You're so awesome, Beth, you know that?" Puck said as he placed Beth back on the ground. "Well, you guys said that you wouldn't let anything happen…" She looked between the two of them.

"And we won't. That's why we want to be your new foster parents." Puck explained, and Beth smirked while wiping tears from her face. "Yeah, I heard about that." She paused, looking between Quinn and Puck with a strange emphasis on her words. "I also heard that you two are _together _now." Beth teased in a sing song voice, causing Quinn to groan.

"About that…" She started, but was interrupted by Danielle entering the room. "Are you ready, Beth?" She asked with her clipboard in front of her. Beth looked at both of her parents before biting her lip and nodding. "And you _promise_ that nothing will happen?" She asked in a smaller voice. Puck gripped one of her hands while Quinn held the other one.

"Nothing will happen to you, Beth." Danielle promised. Beth took a deep breath and sighed. "Well, it started when I first moved in with the Hunters…"

* * *

**Three thousand words! YES! Although I don't think that I'm very proud of this chapter.**

**Quinn and Puck are together! Yay! Although I doubt they got together in the way that you all expected…. **

**Thanks to:**

_**FinchelQuick34**_**: Thank you! My stories usually are a little on the crazy side, but I hope that it is pretty easy to follow.**

**_iShipQuick_: Well, it's still unknown if either of those things will happen, but I hope that they do too ;)**

**_BMontague_: Again, many thanks for this review! At first I thought you were flaming me or something, but then it gave me a lot of information so that I was able to write this chapter and plan out the next ones. Thanks! :D**

**_Quick1329_: I'm glad that you got good grades while reading FF, cause that's awesome! I know what you mean about the rock, but I wanted him to be a maniac cause I wanted to show that it affected him really badly as well… but thanks for your awesome review!**

**_KatieHaller_: Thank you! You're amazing for reviewing!**

**_Ellii51_: Awww, I'm so excited that it caught your attention! Thank you for reading!**

**_Olacindy_: I love their little family unit too! And Puck and Quinn aren't going to let **_**anyone **_**hurt their Beth.**

**_Chloe_: I'm glad that you love it! Thank you!**

**_Jordan of 2013_: Aw, I'm so honored that this is your favorite!**

**_Readbetweenthesigns_: Uh, it was kinda like that… LOL. Hope that you like it.**

**_Quickgirl75_: I know, poor thing! Even if they do take her away, I hope that she goes to a good family ;)**

**_randomly-hyper8711_: Yes, they are so cute! And Puck almost did get arrested… and they still aren't completely off the hook ;)**

**I just want to tell you guys that you are all the best reviewers EVER! Anyways… what did you think?**


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own Glee, and all of the mistakes are mine.**

* * *

"Don't lie to me and pretend that you aren't enjoying this." Santana smirked from across the room, making Quinn jump. "What?" She asked, not really paying attention to what her friend was saying. She was too busy pondering her thoughts. So much had occurred during the last three weeks, and she had a feeling that they weren't going to get any better.

"I mean, I would totally be on your side if Puck was a douchey fake boyfriend," Santana continued, oblivious to the fact that Quinn was ignoring her, "But he treats you like a freaking princess, even when other people aren't looking. You have to admit that Britt hooked you up."

Quinn shrugged, looking down at her fingers. She wished that Puck would just mess up already, do something that would give Quinn a reason to be upset with him.

But he was the perfect gentleman, which agitated Quinn to no end.

He was polite, caring, devoted, compassionate… Quinn couldn't think of anything else that a girl could want in a relationship. He had all of the traits that Quinn would've looked in a possible boyfriend before this all happened. She probably would feel different if this wasn't all coming from Puck, her ex-kind of, sort of, boyfriend from high school with whom she had a child with.

Then there was the fact that they were only doing this to make sure that their daughter would be able to stay with them. Quinn loved her daughter to no end, so she figured that pretending to be in a relationship so that her daughter could live with her was a small constellation for an even bigger prize. She figured that, perhaps, she and Puck would be able to pretend that they were in a committed relationship while trying to see other people.

She was beginning to realize now how impossible that seemed to be.

"What are you going to complain about _now?_" Santana snapped, noticing Quinn's expression. Quinn's frown grew deeper.

"He just… he's too unpredictable!" She snapped, letting some of the confusion that she'd been feeling about the situation lace her words. Santana narrowed her eyes at her friend, not understanding. "Let's just pause here for a sec," Santana started, beginning to walk over to where Quinn was sitting.

"You've been living here in New York, _alone, _for fifteen years, correct?" Quinn opened her mouth to protest, but Santana cut her off. "And all that you've done since you moved here is complain about how there aren't any good guys left in the world, and write these newspaper articles that I've never seen." Santana declared, eyeing her friend down. "Did you not tell me a _million times _that if you found the perfect guy you'd marry him on the spot?" Santana reminded Quinn, annoyance clear in her voice.

Quinn groaned while rubbing her eyes and leaning her head back onto the wall. "Santana," She sighed loudly, not knowing how to explain herself. "He's _unpredictable. _I don't know if he's going to decide to pick up and leave one day and come back the next. He's been that way since high school, and I doubt that he's changed much since then. I mean, who picks up one day and decides that they're going to move to New York when they don't have a job waiting for them? What if he decides that he's bored with pretending that we're a family, and…" Quinn began to rant, letting out all of her fears.

"Wait, wait, wait. _No comprendo. _Are we talking about the same guy that follows you around with googly eyes and waits on you all day?" Santana clarified, her eyebrows raised into her hairline. "It's not like that!" Quinn snapped, tired of her friend insinuating a relationship between herself and her ex. "He's only acting like that because he wants to see Beth." Quinn added, though she wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Santana or herself.

Santana stared at her blonde haired friend, positive that Quinn was only lying to herself. "He has a thing for you, Q," She sighed finally, deciding not to fight. "He's had a thing for you since you guys had Beth, and that was fifteen years ago. I don't think that he's gonna just get up and leave you. People change."

Quinn looked back down at her hands. She wanted to start screaming, because that seemed to be the only way that Santana understood what people were trying to say to her. She also considered slapping her old friend, but she felt too exhausted by the conversation. "You're right." She decided, leaning forward in her chair as she saw Puck walking through the door. "People can change."

* * *

"Do you think that she'll like her room? Lord Tubbington picked out the bedspread especially for her." Brittany called as the group started walking towards the Child Protective Services Center, where Quinn's Perfect Thing was waiting for her. She would probably be skipping, if it weren't for the fact that Puck was holding her hand. Quinn couldn't help but keep a mental list ready in her mind in case Puck did something to mess up, but he wasn't really speaking anyway. He just stared ahead, seemingly lost in thought.

Quinn wondered if he was as nervous as he looked.

"I'm sure that she'll love it, babe." Quinn can hear Santana reassuring her wife in the background, but all Quinn can think about is her Perfect Thing. Sure, Quinn had just seen her daughter last night, and had spoken to her on the phone this morning, but she couldn't shake the scary feeling that something could've gone wrong in her bones.

You think that she'll be okay?" Quinn asks for what she knows has to be the thousandth time that day. The groans from Santana and Brittany confirm her suspicions, and she bites her lip in embarrassment. "Well, she was never at that foster home that they assigned her to because she was always with the two of you, so I seriously doubt that anything happened." Santana chuckled, but Quinn knew that her friend was just as worried about Beth as she was. Santana was the one who made the hourly phone calls to Beth's foster family to check up the teenage girl.

Beth was assigned another foster home to stay at for a period of three weeks while paper work was filed so that Quinn and Puck could take her home. The foster family seemed nice enough, but Puck and Quinn weren't taking any chances. They ended up having visitations with Beth almost every day, and Quinn wasn't even sure if Beth had ever slept at her foster family's home since Beth had slept in Quinn's bed practically every night. Quinn had the sore back to prove that she'd practically been pushed over her bed every night.

As they were about to enter the center, Quinn felt a shock go through her hand and was startled to find that Puck had let go. She tried to look up at him and make eye contact, but he avoided her. She reminded herself that it shouldn't bother her, that this was only pretend. It annoyed her how much something stupid like hand holding affected her, even when she was trying to ignore it.

"Why, look, if it isn't our two lovers and the rest of this train wreck?" Sebastian greeted the group at the door, making Santana groan. "Why the hell are you freaking _everywhere_? Do you not have a _life?_" Santana screeched, making Sebastian chuckle. "I was the physician that checked Beth out, so I _had _to be here. Sorry to disappoint."

Normally, Quinn would have rolled her eyes or chuckled at the banter between the two, but all she was focused on right now was seeing her daughter. "Where is she?" She burst out, not able to contain herself. Sebastian's eyebrows rose. "And to think that I was actually expecting _manners _from a member of the Mötley Crüe. Well, I guess there's always hope for the next generation," Sebastian sighed dramatically before Beth whirled past him from out of nowhere and into Puck's arms.

"You guys are here!" The teenager exclaimed into Puck's rib cage with glee. Puck looked startled at the sudden display of affection, but was quick to wrap his arms around his daughter. "We promised we'd be here, didn't we?" Quinn could feel an uncontrollable grin stretching across her features at the appearance of her daughter. She found her eyes traveling around Beth's body, and she realized that it was probably a reflex by now.

"And we _always _keep our promises," Puck's eyes held a mischievous glint in them as he began to tickle his daughter. Quinn would never understand why, but the sound of her daughter's laugh had always soothed her, even when she babysat Beth when she was a toddler. She reminded herself to get it tape.

"I'm going to ask because I know that no one else will," Santana announced, her eyes quickly flashing up towards Danielle, who had strolled in a few moments ago. "Did anybody touch you, _mija_?" Santana asked, making Danielle go red in the face. Quinn watched her Perfect Thing with cautious eyes. The last time that she and Puck had asked Beth if she was alright, she'd kind of gone ballistic about how she could take care of herself. It wasn't exactly an incident that Quinn wanted to repeat.

To Quinn's surprise, all that Beth did was nod. True, her behavior could have been influenced by Puck tickling her, but Quinn was sure that if Beth wanted to, she would flip out again. After all, she was her father's daughter.

"And nobody tried to make you their bitch, _verdad?_" Santana pressed, folding her arms so that her surrogate niece knew that she meant business.

Puck ignored the fact that Santana was trying to have a conversation with his daughter and continued to tickle her while spinning her around in his arms. "Yeah, I promise." Beth gasped in between her loud streaks of laughter.

Quinn could feel a smile gracing her lips, even though she tried her hardest to stop it from coming. She couldn't help but feel like Santana was reciting all of the lines that Quinn didn't say; only Santana was delivering them the wrong way.

"I'll just need you to sign some paperwork, and then you'll be free to go." Danielle smiled softly, before holding a clipboard and pen out to Quinn. She realized that Beth was no longer laughing, and that Puck was signing paperwork of his own. Beth rested her head on the desk as she stared at her parents expectantly.

"And no one can take me away now, right?" Beth checked, looking up at her social worker. Quinn realized that Beth's big green eyes made her look younger than she was sometimes, and this was one of these times. She was actually glad that Beth inherited her father's eyes.

"Not unless a family member of yours shows up." Danielle smiled tightly. Beth turned back around, the smile back on her face. She was clearly satisfied with this answer, but Quinn wasn't sure if she was. What if one of Shelby's relatives tried to come back and take her? What if-

"…this would be pretty impossible, as Noah and Quinn are your biological parents." Danielle finished, as if she was reading Quinn's thoughts. "Remember, though, that Beth have mandatory therapy sessions, and I will make follow up visits to your apartment." Danielle addressed Puck and Quinn this time.

Santana turned back towards Sebastian in horror. "Don't tell me that you're a therapist, too."  
Everyone laughed, including Sebastian, though Quinn was sure that she was only laughing because she of the bubbly feeling of joy that rose up in her chest at the sound of hearing her Perfect Thing laugh.

She couldn't help but feel that everything was complete. It didn't matter that she had to pretend to be with Puck, or that he would be living in her apartment. She had her Perfect Thing, and that was all that mattered right now.

And she couldn't help but feel that maybe, just maybe, things could work out. Maybe things would go perfectly, just like her Perfect Thing. Things could be easy now, because she had her daughter back.

You wouldn't believe how wrong she ended up being.

* * *

**Ahh! Creepy foreshadow line! I wanted this chapter to be kind of fluffy, because the story was moving so fast and I wanted to try and slow down. Sorry if this felt like a filler chapter. What do you guys think will go wrong?**

**Before I thank you guys, I just want to say that you are some of the best reviewers that I've had in a long time. You leave this really insightful reviews and I just love it! Ahh! I just needed to say that. Anyway…**

**Thanks to:**

_**Ellii51**_**: That was one of my favorite parts, too :D I didn't really explore how it was going to work out, but hopefully you'll see more of it in the next chapter.**

_**Quick1329**_**: OMG, you are **_**awesome**_**. I really love your reviews. Thank you so much for reading!**

_**Olacindy**_**: Thank you! I hope that it wasn't too unrealistic. **

_**Randomly-hyper8711**_**: I love writing Sebastian too, lol. I miss him on the show, so he's going to be a recurring guest star in my story, ha-ha. **

_**Chloe**_**: Yay!**

_**BMontague**_**: Oh, how I love your long reviews :D You're very amazingly awesome, and I get so excited every time I see a review from you on this story. It is an honor to have you read my work *I trip over air as I try to do some lame bow***

_**Jordan of 2013**_**: Yay! I'm glad :D**

_**CAS**_**: Thank you!**

_**marine04**_**: That's so awesome! Thank you!**

**Wow, guys, I'm seriously like the worst writer ever. I'm was writing this chapter while doing homework, and then towards the end I randomly started writing some poem...Sigh, when will I learn….**


	8. Chapter 8

**There's this section later where it's actually rated T, but it isn't that bad at all. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any quotes that you may find familiar…**

* * *

"Quinn, school starts at nine."

Quinn can hear a voice speaking above her, but it doesn't sound urgent enough for her to try and awaken from her slumber. It was as though she was swimming, and she didn't need to come up to the surface for air. There was an annoying buzzing; someone was speaking to her _again_. She didn't wake up before; did they really expect her to now? Then the water was producing waves that crashed against Quinn's body. Gone was the feeling of serenity, and now she was just pissed. Someone was shaking her, try to wake her up.

"_What?" _Quinn snapped, her eyes flashing open to reveal a wide eyed Beth in front of her. The sleep was gone from Quinn's eyes, and she blinked repeatedly as apologies flew out of her mouth in a word vomit. Beth's lip trembled for a moment before she shook her head and began to back away from Quinn's bed. "It's alright; I shouldn't have woken you up anyway. It was stupid."

Quinn began to shake her head frantically, throwing her body out of the bed. "No, no, it was my fault." Quinn protested, not wanting Beth to shut herself off. Quinn wanted to hit herself, and probably would have if it didn't make her look crazy. She wasn't normally a morning person, and wasn't used to people waking her up in the morning. She would have to work on that if Beth was going to stay permanently.

"Quinn, I'm _fine_. You didn't even say anything, and even if you did, I'm a big girl. I can handle it." Beth smirked, eyeing Quinn's shoulder. Beth would have given Quinn a "comforting pat", but decided against it. Back with the Hunters, Beth knew that she wasn't supposed to wake either of her foster parents up when they were sleeping. It was a rule, and _no one _broke the rules.

Quinn stared at her daughter for a moment, before nodding again, trying to shake herself out of her head. It wasn't a big deal; she hadn't done anything wrong. "What time does school start?" Quinn asked warily, eying Beth's school uniform. "Nine," Beth repeated, rocking back and forth on her heels. "It's eight thirty now." She lamented, glancing over at the clock on Quinn's dresser.

"Shit!" Quinn exclaimed, trying to pull off her pajama pants while hoping to the bathroom. They would have to run if they were going to make it to Beth's high school in Brooklyn. Beth hadn't been with Quinn for that long, and she hadn't gotten around to enrolling Beth in a high school in Manhattan yet.

"Quinn-" Beth started in a warning tone behind Quinn, but it was too late. Quinn had already swung the bathroom door open and was greeted with the sight of Puck. A very _naked _Puck.

"Ugh!" Quinn turned and bumped into the shelves, knocking down several bottles of toiletries. "Oh God! What the _hell _are you _doing_?" Quinn exclaimed, refusing to turn around and take a look at the view. Puck, seeing Beth in the doorway, was quick to grab a towel to cover himself up. "Why aren't you wearing any pants?" Puck asked, eyeing Quinn's uncovered lower half.

"_Me? _Why are you _naked_?" Quinn screeched, shielding her eyes with her hands while trying to hide in the corner to hide her clearly visible ass and the tomato red blush that was spreading across her cheeks.

"I was taking a shower! And don't act so disgusted, like you haven't seen it before." Puck scoffed, making Beth gag.

"Ugh, you two are so disgusting." She groaned, leaving her spot in the doorway and heading towards the kitchen. "Eight forty!" The teenager called out warningly on her way out of the room. Quinn stumbled out of the bathroom, positive that Puck's eyes were glued to her ass as she tripped over the various toiletries that had fallen. "I can take Beth, if you need!" Puck called from behind her, but Quinn declined loudly. "I've got it!" She yelled, as she ran into her room and slammed the door.

After throwing on a pair of jeans and a random t-shirt that she found on the ground, Quinn burst into the kitchen to find Beth helping herself to a bowl of cereal and a steaming cup of coffee. Quinn pauses and takes in the fact that her Perfect Thing is clearly not a _Little Thing _before setting out on the search for her house keys. "Are you going to need anything, like pencils o-or paper?" She called.

Beth giggled at her mother's antics, and couldn't help compare her to Amy. Beth had usually been the one to get all of the kids up and ready for school in the morning, and she had to admit that it was nice to have someone fret over her for a change. "Um, I think that schools usually have those things." She smiled before taking another sip from her coffee cup.

She giggles again when Puck wiggles his eyebrows as he emerges from the bathroom, which is filled with steam. "You need anything, squirt?" He asks, ruffling her hair. His eyes widen when he sees the coffee as well, but he decides not to say anything about it. Beth is fourteen years old, and he was doing things that were much worse when he was that age.

"I'm good," Beth nods at Quinn once she enters the room and stands with her book bag. Beth can't help but notice the awkward tension that occurs once Quinn enters the room. Santana and Britt have told her different stories about the love story that blossomed between her parents during high school, but looking at the two of them now, someone would have never guessed it.

Beth watches as Puck and Quinn make awkward eye contact, before Quinn grabs Beth's hand. "We have to run!" She exclaims, gesturing to the clock that reads eight fifty before pulling her daughter out of the apartment without so much as a second glance towards Puck.

* * *

"Oh, no, no. You are _going _to college, and that's _it._" Santana declared, squinting at her niece, who rolls her eyes. "I'm just saying that even if I _do _go to college, there's no guarantee that I'll actually get a good job somewhere." The teenager points out while lugging her book bag behind her. Quinn just observes the scene from the other side of Beth. While Santana was only on her lunch break, Quinn was done for the day and the two had traveled together to pick Beth up from school.

"What if I decided that I wanted to be a stripper, huh? What would you do then?" Beth joked, trying to rile up her fiery aunt. Santana's eyes grew wide. "_Beth-_" She snapped, but Quinn stepped in. "You can be whatever you want to be, honey." She laughed, gently snaking an arm around Beth's shoulders and trying to ignore the way that her daughter flinched at the close contact. Quinn knew that it was just a reflex, but she couldn't help the feeling of disgust that rose up in her chest. Her daughter shouldn't be _scared_ of every adult that tried to touch her.

"If that's what my mom says, than it's final!" Beth declares jokingly. "If you really want to lecture someone about college, why don't you and Britt get to working on that baby making?"

Quinn's jaw drops for a split second, before she closes it and stifles a laugh at her friend's shocked face and her daughter's loud laughter. "Oh, Bethy," Quinn sighs, making the teenager chuckle. Quinn feels pride welling up in her chest when she hears Beth refer to her as her mother. She knows that it is true, but it feels so much more real when Beth actually confirms it. "You should see yourself right now, Tana." Beth breathes in between laughs. "You have a total freak-out face!"

Quinn isn't sure what she expected out of her daughter, but Beth sure as hell isn't the timid, abused little girl that the social worker tried to make Quinn aware of. Sure, Beth had her moments, but they were quick and usually disappeared just as quickly as they appeared. She wasn't sure if this was normal or a sign of something worse to come, but she decided to enjoy it.

"My English teacher is absolutely _in love_ with you, Quinn." Beth comments after she finally regains her breath. "She reads, like, every single one of your articles in the paper. They're hanging up all over her room; it's crazy. I never really noticed before today." Beth is quiet after that, and seems to be mulling something over. Quinn could usually count on Santana to call Beth out on her random periods of silence, but she was still sulking in defeat over Beth's comeback.

"What is it, sweetie?" Quinn asks as the group nears her apartment. "You know that you can talk to me about anything, right?" She asks for what has to be the millionth time that day. Quinn wasn't sure if there was any other way to convey it, but she needs Beth to _know._

Beth kicks at the sidewalk for a moment before speaking. "How come we never discus the f-word?" She asks, not looking up to meet Quinn's eyes. "T-the _f-word?" _Quinn repeats, sounding uneasy. On the other side of Beth, Santana burst into laughter.

"No, I didn't mean it like that." Beth protests, her face red. "I meant that you never talk to Puck, and when you do it's like the most awkward train wreck that I've ever seen. You never want to go anywhere with me when he comes, and he sleeps on the couch. Face it, you two can't act like a couple! How are you going to keep me?" Beth asks, her eyes darting back and forth between Quinn's eyes and the sidewalk.

Quinn is shocked for a moment, because she wasn't consciously trying to act that way. She didn't want to seem like she couldn't stand Puck, because that wasn't true. She was just maintaining her distance, so that she didn't get too close, like in high school.

"Well," She starts, but is interrupted by her phone chiming, signaling that she had a text message. Beth nods towards Quinn's phone and she reluctantly pulls it out to check her messages.

_Danielle here 4 check in! Come back ASAP_

_-Puck_

* * *

"Hey, babe! I was just telling Danielle that you went to pick Beth up from school…" Puck trailed off when he answered the door, trying to convey a message to Quinn without speaking as he takes her coat. "How was school, Beth?" He asks as he leads them both into the living room.

"Oh, it was _great_." Beth answers a little too dramatically. Quinn sees Danielle sitting on the couch stiffly, a clipboard in front of her. "I'm going to try and make this quick, because I have other cases that I have to see." She says quickly, clicking her pen and preparing to write. "I've already seen the apartment, and spoken with Noah. I was waiting for the two of you to return before I finished the visit." Danielle pauses, then looks up and Quinn and Beth, who both look disheveled from running back towards the apartment in order to make it on time.

"I was just asking Noah here why he didn't accompany you to pick up Beth, seeing as you were the one to drop her off. It seems like it would make sense." Danielle says with a transparent smile, making Quinn want to wipe the smile off of her face. She shouldn't have to explain herself to anyone, and it annoyed her that Danielle even asked the question.

"We just figured that it would make more sense for me to pick her up, since I was going to be at work anyway." Quinn explains through clenched teeth. Danielle pauses and stares at Quinn with calculating eyes for a moment before nodding and writes down notes on her clipboard.

"And everything has been going fine? I understand that you have been looking into schools closer to the area for Beth, but what about making the therapy appointments and things like that?" Danielle asks, looking between Quinn and Puck, who looks so much more nervous than Quinn would have expected him to be. She could swear that she sees his hands shaking, and she's not even that close to him.

"As a matter of fact, I think that Beth's going to be late to her appointment if we don't leave now, right sweetie?" Quinn asks, turning to Puck swiftly and grabbing Beth's hand. Danielle looks flustered at the abruptness of Quinn's announcements, and looks towards Puck, who just stares at Quinn with raised eyebrows.

"But I thought that I was going to take her, so that you and Puck could have your date night?" Santana piped up from her spot near the door. Quinn flinches because she doesn't get how she could've forgotten that Santana followed them back to the apartment. What she can remember, however, was agreeing that Puck would be the one to take Beth to therapy that day, not Santana. She doesn't know what sick game Santana is starting to play but-

"I remember that!" Puck agrees, nodding vigorously. Quinn glares at him and clenches her fist, trying to show him that she needed him to shut up, but he either couldn't tell or didn't care. "We should get going, honey. We wouldn't want to miss our reservations.

* * *

**Puck and Santana are just devious little things, aren't they? I'm sorry that this chapter sucked, and I sincerely apologize for my lack of knowledge about how a visit from a social worker would actually work. I have never experienced one, and there's only so much that you can learn from Google.**

**Thanks to:**

_**Jordan of 2013**_**: Awww thanks! And it won't be totally awful as to what happens, but it will start to build up into something bad…**

_**Gleek Actually**_**: Amy and Oliver suck, I agree. I'm glad that you like my writing style! I'm so excited to see a review from you on each chapter! THANK YOU!**

_**BMontague**_**: Thank you so much! I'm glad that I got at least one thing kind of right about the foster care :/ I try to write Santana well, so thank you for that compliment! I'm not going to say anything about your observation…I might give something away…but interesting ;)**

_**Ellii51**_**: I'm so glad that this story is becoming one of your stories! I must be doing something right ;)**

_**Quick1329**_**: Wow, thanks so much for your review! I love long ones :D  
I'm glad that you enjoy the way that I write Santana as well. It was so cool that that happened before that episode! You most definitely do not sound annoying, and I love to read your insight. Thank you!**

_**Randomly-hyper8711**_**: I'm glad! And it's going to be interesting when they get together… **

**Thank you guys for the reviews again! They are seriously awesome!**


	9. Chapter 9

**So this chapter is going to be told in little snippets… let me know if it bothers you.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or anything else that you may recognize and any mistakes made are my own.**

* * *

"Can you tell me why Lover Boy refuses to step foot into this apartment?" Santana bursts in through the door of the apartment, making Quinn groan.

"Why are you always here?" Quinn fires back, her cup of coffee untouched on the kitchen island. "Last time that I heard, you had a wife and a job waiting for you in Brooklyn." Beth, who had been eating her breakfast silently, pops her head up and stares at Quinn with curiosity.

"Is that why he hasn't been coming over?" She asks suspiciously. Beth has been wondering why her father had no problem with spending time with Beth, as long as he didn't have to set foot in the apartment for more than a few minutes.

"We just got into a little fight, is all. It wasn't fair of you guys to trick me into going to that date anyway." Quinn looks uncomfortable and shrugs down towards the counter.

"It wasn't a _little fight _if you ended up _storming out of the restaurant _when the poor guy just wanted to take you on a date." Santana protests, but Quinn wasn't having it. She dumps her coffee down the sink and grabs her purse without saying anything.

"I still don't think that you needed to leave him there at the restaurant all alone," Beth mumbled into her cereal. Quinn looks at Beth in surprise, before shaking her head.

"It was complicated, Beth."

* * *

"So I've been thinking that I don't really know much about you. I mean, we've been living together for a while now, but I don't know who you're favorite singer is." Quinn starts as she places a plate of chicken fingers in front of Beth. The teenager blinks slowly, eyeing Quinn suspiciously.

"I like Taylor Swift," She answers softly while picking at her dinner.

"See, I didn't know that. Taylor Swift is awesome." Quinn offers, sitting down in front of her dinner. "What's your favorite color?"

"You don't have to do this." Beth interrupts suddenly.

"Do what, honey?" Quinn asks, titling her head win concern.

"Try so hard."

Quinn stares at Beth in shock, but the girl has gone back to playing with her food. Quinn wasn't aware that she had been "trying hard". She just wanted Beth to like her, and things hadn't been going the way that she wanted since Beth found out about the faulty date.

It honestly wasn't Quinn's fault. Puck had just continued to speak to her, and she was just so _aggravated _about being forced to be on a date with him that she stormed out.

Now it seems as though Puck wanted nothing to do with her.

Quinn isn't sure what to say, and is relieved when she hears the doorbell ring. She jumps up and opens the door, hoping that whoever was at the door would give her a distraction. Instead, she opened the door to find Puck standing there awkwardly, with his hands in his pockets, looking as though he wanted to be anywhere except at Quinn's apartment.

"You said that Beth needs papers signed?" He says, not really asking a question. Quinn isn't surprised that he doesn't meet her eyes when he speaks. She nods quietly, opening the door wider.

"They're over here," Quinn gestures towards the kitchen table where Beth's school files sit. Since Beth wanted to play volleyball at her school, a whole new batch of files needed to be updated for her new school, which meant that Puck would need to sign things as well.

Puck nods, before picking up a pen from the table and beginning to read through the forms. Quinn isn't sure if she should say anything to Puck, since Beth is right down the hall, but she doesn't want the tension between them to get in the way of her budding relationship with Beth.

"Why are you so angry with me?" Quinn asks suddenly, making Puck jump slightly.

"I'm not mad at you." He answers shortly as his pen dances across the page of forms.

Quinn shakes her head, groaning internally. "No, no, you're very angry. You haven't spoken to me in two weeks."

"And I'm supposed to have a conversation with you ever second?"

"Puck, it's just that I've worked really hard to get where I am now, and I don't want to get involved with anything that might take that away from me-"

"What makes you think that I'm trying to take anything away from you?" Puck slams the pen down, pushing his hands into the wood of the table. He stares at Quinn intently, the green in his eyes flashing brightly, though Quinn knows that it isn't from joy or happiness.

"Why else would you be all over me the way that you are?"

"All over you? Sorry if I'm trying to make sure that Beth doesn't get _taken away-"_

"Uh, I was wondering if either of you knew who the reason why Louis and Clark went on their expedition, but I'll just ask later…" Beth glances between her parents, looking distressed about the expressions that they are wearing. Puck's demeanor changes instantly as Beth enters the room.

"No, it's okay. I have to tell you though; I don't know anything about history."

Quinn stares at Puck with her hands folded, frustration coming over her once more. At this rate, nothing will go back to normal, though she isn't even sure what normal was.

* * *

"Wait, so this isn't some sort of practical joke? You're actually pregnant?"

Quinn would've done a good old fashioned spit take, but it seemed a bit cliché.

Britt nods rapidly, the dopey smile never leaving her face. "We've been trying for almost a year now." She adds, the smile growing wider, if that was even possible. Santana sits next to her, their hands intertwined. They look like the perfect couple, something that Quinn and her pretend boyfriend were far from.

Quinn had received a call while at work from Santana, telling her that Britt was having some sort of medical emergency. By the time that Quinn was able to arrive, it was discovered that Britt had a cyst that ruptured in her ovaries, which was why she had been in so much pain and had to be admitted to the hospital.

"What ever happened to your theory that kids were just stuck up little brats that needed a spanking?" Quinn smirks, still in a bit of shock at the news. She remembers when she found out that she was pregnant with Beth, though her feelings back then were the opposite of what Santana and Britt were feeling at the moment.

"Those are other people's kids. I can assure you that _my child_ will be absolutely nothing like those little brats you see playing out in the street." Santana rolls her eyes and remarks smugly, though Quinn can see the excitement sparkling in her eyes.

"We should do something special to celebrate." Quinn says.

"I _definitely_ could eat. We must have been here for six hours already, and I'm eating for two now." Britt groans, practically jumping out of the examination table that she had been lounging on.

Wait, six hours? Quinn hesitates, before slowly looking down at her watch.

"Shit," She huffs under her breath. Quinn rushes to shove her coat on while grabbing her bag.

"Wait is it, Q?" Santana asks in concern.

"I have to pick Beth up from volleyball tryouts. Maybe we could do something on another day?" She asks, not leaving time for the women to give her an answer as she rushes out of the hospital.

* * *

Beth sits out on the school steps all alone, looking pitiful as ever with her hat placed haphazardly onto her head and her coat practically falling off of her body. The one thing that hits Quinn right away, however, is the aggravation on Beth's face. Quinn has a feeling that this isn't going to be pretty.

"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry." Quinn rushes out of the taxi and over to the steps where Beth sits. The girl refuses to make eye contact with her, choosing instead to stare straight ahead. Quinn can't help but be reminded of Puck, and the way that he was angry with her earlier.

"You forgot me." The girl says simply, not looking up at her mother.

"It's not like that, Beth. Britt is going to have a baby, and something was going on. Santana and I were afraid that the baby was hurt, and I had to go to the hospital with them." Quinn explains while looking back to make sure that the taxi was going to stay.

"You didn't _have _to go to the hospital with Santana, because she and Britt can take care of themselves. You went because you forgot about me."

Quinn groans loudly, but Beth doesn't move an inch. "Okay, okay, I forgot you, and I'm _so _sorry for that. We both know that this has been difficult for the both of us. Let's just go home now, okay?"

Beth sits on the steps, her eyes glued to the taxi in front of her. Quinn can't believe that her Perfect Thing is giving her the silent treatment because of something stupid like this.

"Oh my god, Beth, move it!" Quinn commands, wanting to stop her foot on the sidewalk. She doesn't want her daughter to think that she's trying to boss her around, but that's exactly what she was trying to do. She's never had a problem with Beth listening before, and she wonders if it is stemming from the tension between herself and Puck.

Beth huffs loudly before swinging her book bag onto one of her shoulders and stomping over to the taxi with Quinn following closely behind. They ride back to the apartment in silence, and Beth is quick to run into her room while slamming the door behind herself.

Quinn has tries to remember the last time that she has felt stressed out like this, and she remembers a bunch of instances from high school. She leans against the door frame and rubs her temples, trying to calm herself down. She tries to tell herself that Beth is in a new environment, and just came back from her first day of school. It probably didn't help that Quinn was a couple of hours late to pick her up.

Quinn isn't sure if she should give Beth time to cool down or not, but she can't stand the silence. It wasn't like Beth filled the apartment with noise, but MTV was usually playing in one of the rooms. She makes her way down the hall to Beth's room, knocking on the door quietly before entering.

Beth lies on her bed, flipping through Quinn's yearbook. Her dirty blonde hair is fanned out around her, and Quinn can't help but marvel in how beautiful her Perfect Thing is.

She also remembers that she would do anything to make sure that she wouldn't lose her Perfect Thing.

"I'm sorry that I totally messed up your first day of school, Beth." Quinn starts. When all she gets in response is the sound of a page flipping, she takes another step towards the bed. She doesn't know why she is so nervous around her daughter, who is more than half her age.

"I know that I'm doing everything wrong, and no one can replace Shelby. But I want you to know that I'm trying my best, and I would never do anything to try and hurt you. Is there anything that I can do to make it up to you?" Quinn asks as she sits down on the bed.

Beth turns to make eye contact with Quinn, and she can't help but see so much of _him _in her. It's unnerving, yet beautiful at the same time.

"You mean like anything?" Beth clarifies in a husky voice.

Quinn nods vigorously. "I mean, you can ask for something and I'll try to make it happen. I doubt that I'll be able to get Taylor Swift to come to your school or something."

Beth chuckles softly, and Quinn takes this as a signal that she's doing alright.

"My first day _sucked. _I didn't know anyone, and I don't think that I made the volleyball team." Beth laments. Quinn feels thrilled that Beth is coming to her with problems, but then she feels guilty. If she hadn't given Beth up, she wouldn't have been raised by other people.

"First days are always horrible. It'll get better, Beth. It usually does, after a little while." Quinn pauses, before pointing at the group photo of the Glee Club in the yearbook.

"_That's_ what got me through high school." She smiles fondly, memories flooding back.

"Quinn?" Beth asks timidly. Quinn looks up in acknowledgment, and the girl continues.

"You aren't doing _everything _wrong."

* * *

"This was Beth's idea, not mine. I owe her for something."

"Something tells me that I knew that. Is this about that whole forgetting her at school thing?"

"Ugh, why do you know about that?"

"A little bird told me. Anyways, your place or mine?"

"Wouldn't it be easier to go to a restaurant?"

"But you said that she wants to cook."

"Well, I guess so, but I'm sure that if she just gets to be with you…"

"My place, we'll do it at mine."

"But I have all of the pizza stuff in my kitchen."

"Great, so we'll use yours."

* * *

"Beth, can't we go inside now? He's probably just running late because of traffic or something." Quinn sighs as she leans against the steps that lead into her apartment. Beth insisted on waiting for Puck to arrive outside, where snow had just begun to fall. Quite frankly, Quinn was freezing, though Beth didn't seem to be affected.

"Toughen up, solider! Amy used to send me outside without shoes on!" Beth remarks. Quinn notices that it is easier for the girl to mention her former foster mother, and wonders if it is because of her therapy sessions that she has been attending.

"So you're _not _cold…"

"He's late." Beth huffs, staring into the street. "There's never any traffic on the subway."

* * *

"Quinn, Puck is here!" Beth's voice calls from the lounge. Quinn rolls out of her bed and heads towards the kitchen, where Beth is helping Puck to unload all of his goodies. Puck nods at Quinn in greeting, and she smiles tightly.

"Did you remember to bring the pizza pan?" Quinn asks, eyeing all of the ingredients that Puck brought with him.

"Of course I remembered the pizza pan."

Quinn notices that Beth watches the conversation between herself and Puck as though it was a tennis match, and she wonders what is going on. she hopes that this whole get together was just some plan that Beth hatched up in order to try and play match maker.

"Alright, the rules that Beth and I agreed on were that tonight Beth and I make dinner, and _only _Beth and I." Puck gestures towards Beth, who nods vigorously. Quinn feels startled by the fact that the two planned to basically leave her out of the night of fun, but she tries to remember that Beth hasn't seen Puck as much as she used to. She feels as though she and Puck are a divorced couple, something that she isn't too fond of, she thinks as she remembers her parents' nasty divorce that occurred a few years prior.

"Are you sure? I could help…" Quinn protests lightly as Beth pushed her out of the kitchen.

"No, no. Just me and Puck. You can write that article on hurricane relief that's due on Saturday while you wait." Beth chastises, making Quinn roll her eyes.

* * *

"Alright, tonight we're making pizza. Pass me the pizza pans, chef." Puck commands with an exaggerated Italian accent. Beth giggles while passing the pans towards her father.

"We have to get some flower and roll some dough, okay?"

Beth nods as Puck plops a batch of dough in front of the girl. "So you wanna work your hands in real good, just like that." Puck demonstrates, pushing his hands deep into the pizza dough. Beth imitates her father, pressing her small hands beside his. "We want it to be nice and round."

"Do you know how to flip it, like in the movies?" Beth asks excitedly. Puck hesitates, before grabbing the dough in his hands.

"Well you see, my dear," He starts in an Italian accent once more, "back in my homeland, the first thing that they taught me was how to flip a pizza…" Puck starts, tossing the dough into the air.

"I don't think that they call it 'flipping' a pizza…" Beth trails off as the pizza lands onto of Puck's face. She bursts into loud burst of laughter, leaning down and clutching her stomach. Puck stares at her with a straight face for as long as he can, before he too bursts into loud laughter.

"Let's just start a new one." He breathes in between laughs as he tries to pick the dough out of his hair.

* * *

"Quinn! We're ready!" Beth calls from down the hall. "Take your shoes off, though. We're going on a campout!"

Quinn pads her way down the hallway in her bare feet, noticing that all of the lights have been turned off. Beth meets her near the lounge with one of the flashlights that Quinn uses during hurricanes, but Quinn doesn't say anything. Beth is acting like a kid who had the childhood that she should've had, and Quinn won't take that away from her.

"Alright, come with me." Beth grips Quinn's hand in her own and leads her deeper into the lounge. "Watch your step," She commands softly as the pair come across the "campsite". Puck and Beth had set up a tent out of blankets and spread the pizza out around a "campfire", which was just an orange blanket draped over a flashlight. Still, Quinn had to give them points on creativity. She was careful not to ask how they would come across a pizza in the middle of the wilderness.

"Do you guys need me to get plates or something?" Quinn asks, about to head into the kitchen. Puck stops her by grabbing her arm, pulling her towards the campsite with a gentle tug.

"No, sit down. We don't need plates if we're camping out."

"Oh, I see. This should be fun." Quinn says with a smile as she takes a bite out of the pizza.

* * *

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Beth was the one that made the pizza, because Puck can't cook to save his life." Quinn laughs as Puck's eyes widen in mock insult.

"I can assure you that I've learned how to cook a few things over the years." He replies and Beth giggles.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but freezing ice doesn't count as cooking." Quinn fires back as Puck rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Really? Jackie Daniels? That's the worst name ever!" Beth exclaims, bursting into laughter. Puck shakes his head in embarrassment. "It seemed like a good name for you at the time…" He trails off as Quinn makes a face.

"That's the reason why I didn't let him name you."

"What?" Puck exclaims. "I was the one that named you, Beth."

"That's not true!"

"You guys are worse than the kids at my school."

* * *

"So she's been singing about her ex-boyfriends since before I was born?" Beth asks incredulously.

Puck shrugs, taking a satisfying crunch of pizza. "I guess she never really knew what to write about."

Quinn shakes her head, disagreeing. "I remember liking a few of her songs, and when she sings about things besides boys she's pretty good."

"Yeah, except she only sings about things other than boys once or twice a year. That's why no guy will go anywhere near her anymore." Puck remarks, making Quinn shake her head.

"Well, I still like her."

"We know, Beth. We know."

* * *

"I should probably put her to bed." Puck whispers, gesturing towards a sleeping Beth. Quinn nods slowly, getting ready to wake the girl up. Puck shakes his head. "Allow me," He whispers as he slips Beth into his arms. He slowly makes his way down the hall, a sleeping Beth in his arms. Quinn feels an unknown feeling rise up in her chest at the sight of the father and daughter, but she ignores it as she leans against the couch and stares into the "fire".

When Puck comes back, he grips something in his arms. "Remember the albums that Shelby used to mail us every year?" He asks, settling himself down next to Quinn. Surprisingly, Quinn doesn't feel like moving away the way that she normally would. She blames it on her being tired.

"Yeah, I remember. I was stupid to never wonder why she stopped sending them when Beth was seven, though." Quinn comments, feeling a lump grow in her throat.

"It wasn't your fault, you know. It wasn't anyone's fault. Sometimes freak things like this just happen." Puck comforts her softly, and Quinn nods. She reminds herself that she isn't going to cry, at least, not in front of Puck. She decides to lighten the mood and reaches for the album that Puck holds in his arms.

"Which one is this?"

"The first year," Puck answers with a slight smile as he flips open to the first page.

"Remember that clown pig that you drew for her?

"Oh yeah," Puck chuckles. "I wonder if she still has it."

"I doubt it." Quinn answers. "But at least we have a picture of it."

The couple continues to flip through the memories until they land on the last page, which is a picture of the two of them right after Beth was born. Puck stands over Quinn's shoulder while she cradles Beth in her arms.

"I can't believe that she was ever that small," Puck says softly, staring at the photo intently. Quinn nods, not trusting herself to speak.

"We look so young," She decides to comment instead. She leans back into the couch, and turns to see that Puck is staring at her. She stares back into his eyes, the eyes a deep green so much like Beth's. She remembers when she first met him, and how cocky he was.

Puck remembers when their daughter was born, and how beautiful the both of them looked on that day. Without any warning, he leans in to kiss Quinn on her lips.

This time, she doesn't resist.

* * *

**Aww… all I can ask is if you guys hated it or not. I know that I wrote this kind of differently from how I usually do it, and just let me know if it really annoyed you or not.**

**Thanks to:**

**_Olacindy_: Thank you! And I can promise that if Satan is around, devilish things will be happening ;)**

**_Quick1329_: That Santana, always causing trouble. I hope that you liked this chapter, because I think they had a few glances and touches in here.**

**_Agronderwood_: This was more of the real date, lol.**

**_Ellii51_: Ah, I know! I must have Santana fever or something :P**

**_FinchelQuick34_: Aw, thank you! I hope that I had more of that in this chapter.**

**_Jordan of 2013_: Oh, that Beth. Ever so entertaining is she.**

**_BMontague_: Santana is always starting **_**something **_**;)**

**_CoryMonteith'sMyHero_: Oh, thank you so much!**

**_Gleek Actually_: The social worker really annoys me. I wish she would just go away :P**

_**randomly-hyper8711**_**: You didn't really see it :/ I'm sorry.**

**Yeah, sorry that I skipped over the date… it was kind of necessary :/**

**What did you guys think?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee and any mistakes made are my own.**

* * *

Quinn blinks the sleep out of her eyes. She doesn't remember ever going to bed last night, yet she recognizes the familiar comfort of her bed sheets. It's weird that she was in bed, since the last thing that she remembered was being with Puck…

The sound of heavy breathing suddenly pops out at Quinn, and she feels like an oblivious parent in an old sitcom as she realizes what must have happened. She doesn't have to look far to see that neither she nor Puck are wearing clothes, and she isn't sure about how she feels. On one hand, as the memories of last night flood back into her mind, she feels like a giddy teenager once more. Sparks linger on her skin from his touches; her lips tingle from his kisses.

She remembers now how easy it was for him to get her pregnant.

Quinn begins to panic, wondering if Puck ever actually learned how to use a condom. He should have, of course, seeing as it's been fifteen years, but something in the back of her mind nags her. _This was how she got pregnant last time. _

Quinn can't pregnant again. At least, not right now.

How would she juggle a baby, her job, and Beth? She wouldn't want her Perfect Thing thinking that she was taking a backseat in her priority list because of a baby on the way…

Quinn shakes herself out of her thoughts and slowly sits up, blinking sleep out of her eyes yet again. She can't help but marvel at the way that Puck looks while he sleeps. He lies on his side, looking snug underneath the cream colored comforter with his darkly colored Mohawk in disarray. His lips are slightly parted, though he breathes through his nose. Quinn could stare at him for hours.

She's confused.

Just yesterday, she felt as though she couldn't stand him. She doesn't know what she feels now, but she does know that it is far from hate.

Quinn leans back on the headboard, content with watching Puck. In the back of her mind, she can hear her thoughts chastising her for being foolish, for acting like a lovesick puppy.

She finds that she doesn't care.

Perhaps it is because it's first thing in the morning, and Quinn can't fully comprehend what has occurred. Maybe it's because she just doesn't care. Either way, she doesn't think that she'll move from the spot for a long time.

That is, until a buzzing is heard throughout the apartment, signaling that someone is at the door.

Quinn is quick to jump out of bed before the visitor awakens the other two sleeping inhabitants of the apartment, and quickly tiptoes to the front door. She doesn't even take the chance to look through the peephole, knowing that the only person who would show up at her apartment this early would be Santana or Britt, though she wonders how neither of the women has been fired from the jobs, with all of the vacation time that they've been taking in all.

Quinn pulls the door open a few inches, and begins to blink rapidly when the figure outside the door isn't who she expected it to be.

"Danielle? What are you doing here?"

* * *

"Puck! Puck, wake up!"

Quinn rampages around the apartment, shoving clothing into closets and dishes into the dishwasher. She wonders what Danielle would be judging she and Puck on, though she guesses that slamming the door in the social worker's face probably set her back a couple of points.

When Quinn doesn't hear footsteps following her into the kitchen, she groans softly and stomps back into the bedroom. "Puck!" She hisses, trying to keep her voice down. The last thing that she needed was Danielle thinking that something horrible was going on inside of the apartment because of yelling.

Quinn shakes the man roughly a few times, and stops when his eyes begin to flutter. "A few more minutes," He mumbles, but Quinn shakes her head.

"You don't have _time _for a few more minutes! The social worker's here, for one of those surprise checkup things!" Quinn exclaims softly. She's halfway out of the room, when Puck calls her from his spot on the bed.

"You might wanna throw some clothes on, but that's just a suggestion. You and I could go matching, if you want." He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, and Quinn rolls her eyes, wondering how this guy was able to get into her pants more than once. She would blame it on her being a stupid teenager, but she couldn't exactly do that anymore. However, she refuses to believe that Puck has actual skills, even though she's experienced them herself.

"Beth!" Quinn hisses from outside the girl's bedroom door, throwing on a bathrobe. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Puck rising from the bed, completely naked. She focuses on Beth's door and continues to knock loudly, though she can feel the strong blush growing on her cheeks, especially when Puck begins to hum suggestively.

"Beth!" Quinn exclaims once more. She bangs on the door one more time, before forcefully making her way into the bedroom. She's surprised to see that the bed is perfectly made, and Beth is nowhere in sight. "Beth, this isn't any time for games! Danielle's here and we need to have our meeting with her!" Quinn sighs, wandering around the bedroom slowly. Beth wouldn't sneak out, would she?

"Is Puck still here?" Beth asks, her head popping out from underneath her bed. Quinn jumps back, shocked at Beth's sudden appearance. Beth's blonde hair is tangled and covering her face as she uses her arms to shimmy out from underneath her bed. "I woke up last night and heard you guys making weird noises," Beth mentions, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Quinn rolls her eyes to cover up her embarrassment, even though she can feel the blush rising into her cheeks. She was horrified that there was a chance that her daughter could have been listening to her and Puck last night. Perhaps that had been the reason that Beth was sleeping under the bed; she'd heard sounds and been scared. It wasn't a too farfetched notion, given Beth's past.

"You've been spending _way _too much time with Santana lately," She tries to put emphasis in her words in order to turn the attention away from herself. Beth only shrugs, though the suggestive smile never leaves her lips.

"Whatever you say…" She trails off in a sing song voice.

Quinn shakes her head and pulls Beth up to her legs. "You really need to get ready, though. Danielle's waiting outside and she's probably already docking points-"

"I doubt that she has a score keeping board that she carries around when she makes her visits, though I agree that she might document something about your boyfriend spending the night while you have a child in the apartment…." Beth interrupts, smirking as her eyes wander over Quinn's bathrobe.

Quinn's eyes widen considerably. She already knows this, she tells herself, but hearing Beth say something about it makes it seem more real. Though she knows that her daughter only meant it as a joke, she's even more determined to make this meeting go well. She knows that she'll never let Beth be taken away from her again.

"Come on, Beth. Get dressed."

* * *

"So everything has been running smoothly? I hope that I didn't come at an inconvenient time." Danielle smiles in a sickly sweet way, almost as if she _knew _what Puck and Quinn had been up to. She begins to shuffle papers, but she eyes the couple suspiciously as she does so. She's already interviewed Beth, who's holed up in her room as she had been before. She remembers the look of encouragement that her daughter gave her just a few moments before, and tells herself to focus.

Quinn decides not to look at Puck at all, because she knows that she'll burst into a ridiculous smile or insane laughter if she does. It annoys, the way that he makes her feel like a teenager, but she can't let this influence her right now. She reminds herself that this is about Beth and Beth only. The mistake that she made back in high school was letting her own wants get in the way of what was best for Beth, something that she did not want to repeat.

"No, it's great. Just a little early, is all." Quinn tries her best to smile politely, but she's sure that her annoyance can be seen. Danielle nods tightly, holding her clipboard out in front of herself expectantly. After a few moments of silent staring, Quinn's eyes slowly travel over to Puck, who glances over to her with confusion.

"So it's obvious that the two of you slept together last night." Danielle announces suddenly, making Quinn's jaw drop open. She doesn't care about Puck's reaction, and actually feels a bit of anger bubble up in her chest towards him. This could all be ruined because of _one night…_

Then again, it was all started because of one night.

"W-what are you-" Puck starts, but Danielle holds up a hand to signal that he should stop speaking.

"I know all of the signs. Quinn, your hair is always perfectly styled whenever I see you. Right now, it looks like a bird's nest. Puck won't stop looking at you with this little smile on his face while you won't even look at him, and Quinn is wearing Puck's clothes. Is it a coincidence?" Danielle asks, her beady eyes darting between the two of them as if they are convicted criminals.

Quinn is in too much shock to even say anything, because she can't believe that the social worker could see through their act so quickly.

"Look, I understand. You two are young and in love, and you just want to show each other. I thought that I wouldn't have to worry about the two of you, but maybe I do. Maybe the sexual tension just became too much to bear." The social worker eyes the two of them disdainfully.

"It kind of just happened." Puck supplies lamely, making Quinn want to smack her forehead. Puck's fingers slowly inch towards hers until their hands are intertwined. Quinn doesn't make an effort to pull her hands away, though she has to wonder if Puck actually means it or is just putting on a show to make sure that Beth can stay with them.

"Whatever the reason may be, the two of you need to understand that this is about Beth. She deserves to be in a stable environment after what she's been through in the past, and she can't have that if the two of you are shacking up in the bedroom one week and not speaking to each other the next." The social worker lectures, making Quinn wonder what exactly Beth said to her.

"We know that. We're never going to do anything to try and hurt Beth." Puck argues, his jaw sticking out defiantly.

Quinn nods in agreement, feeling insulted that Danielle would even suggest that Quinn would intentionally put Beth into a bad situation. "She deserves the best."

"Beth does deserve the best, which is why you two need to be serious about this relationship. You both need to realize how colossal the effects on Beth could be if this relationship should end badly." Danielle stresses. While Quinn doesn't appreciate this conversation, she has to admit that the social worker seems to genuinely care about Beth's wellbeing.

"You don't need to worry about it; we're going to make this work." Puck declares, giving Quinn's hand a reassuring squeeze as though he was speaking to her as well. Quinn isn't sure what her future with Puck holds, but she feels reassured by his words. However, there is still the underlying fear that he might be putting on another show.

Danielle sighs heavily, eyeing the two tiredly as if they had just pulled her through a marathon. "I guess that I can trust the two of you to try your best. There's no going back from here." She states warningly.

Quinn can see Puck nodding out of the corner of her eye, and she follows suit. "Beth is our top priority," Puck is sure to assure the social worker. Quinn feels her heart swell with something, but it is too soon to identify it as love.

"I'll hold you to it. I've seen so many cases like this, and the odds lean towards this ending badly. Just remind yourselves of Beth, and what will happen to her should anything go wrong, alright?"

Puck nods his agreement, while Quinn nods slowly. She knows that she's beginning to feel stronger feelings towards Puck, and she isn't exactly sure that he feels the same way. He has a history of being a player, and their relationship didn't exactly end well in the past.

Danielle is already packing up her papers, though Quinn doesn't recall any note taking. "I'll be back in another month," She reminds them simply, eyeing them once more. The couple watches as she exits through the door, and Quinn lets out a breath that she didn't know that she'd been holding.

"Thank God that's over," Puck mumbles under his breath, rubbing his thumb against Quinn's hand. She lets herself look up at him as she tries to calculate the odds of the two staying together.

"Hey," Puck's voice is soft now, and Quinn is snapped out of her thoughts. "We're gonna make it work, okay? I care about you, and we both love Beth. That's what's going to keep us together when things get tough."

Quinn tries to over analyze his statement, wondering if Beth is supposed to be what keeps them together. Of course, that probably wasn't what he meant, but Quinn can't help the way that her mind goes into overdrive. She wonders if she truly wants this to work. She remembers that moment in the hospital when Brittany jumped in and announced that they were together, and she wonders if she's actually doing this for the right reason. She doesn't want to be the one to break any hearts.

"I care about you too," Quinn hears herself whispering. She guesses that her heart took over this time, and she decides to let her mind take the back seat as she gently presses her lips to Puck's. His free hand reaches up and caresses her face, and she finds herself leaning into his touch as the kiss becomes deeper. She finds herself thinking that maybe it will be alright, and that maybe they can do this.

"Do you guys _want _this place to be filled with little Beths? Learn how to keep your hands off of each other!" Beth exclaims from behind them.

"Ugh, Beth! Don't sneak up on us like that!"

"This is a rated PG-13 zone! Shield your young eyes from this poison!"

"I'm _fifteen. God, _that wasn't even funny, Puck."

* * *

**So Quick is on! Yes! Sorry if this is becoming cliché.**

**Thanks to:**

_**FinchelQuick34**_**: I'm so excited that you loved it so much! AHHH!**

_**Agronderwood**_**: Ah, don't we all? ;)**

_**Quick1329**_**: Thank you! I'm glad that you like it. I thought that it was interesting.**

_**CoryMonteith'sMyHero**_**: Thank you so much! I'm not the **_**biggest **_**fan of Taylor Swift, but I thought that she would be someone that Beth would like.**

_**Olacindy**_**: Yes! Their little family is finally coming along :)**

_**Ellii51**_**: They kissed again at the end of this chapter ;)**

_**Gleekalwaysand4ever**_**: Ha-ha, well…. ;)**

_**BMontague**_**: Thank you so much! I've been trying my best to make it as realistic as it can be under the circumstances, and I'm glad to see that readers feel that it is that way (if that makes sense…) I especially enjoy your input, as you have experience in social work and families :)  
It's funny how I just started writing the chapter when I saw your review! Great minds think alike ;)**

_**Jordan of 2013**_**: Thank you so much! I'm glad that you really liked this chapter, and also that you didn't totally hate the way that I wrote it, lol.**

_**Gleek Actually**_**: Oh, the many times that I've sat in front of the school waiting for my mom ;) You're the only person that really seems to care about Brittana's baby, lol. Thank you very much!**

_**Msjanelle32**_**: Thank you for taking the time to read it, and I'm glad that you like it!**

_**CAS**_**: Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed it ;)**

**I love you guys so much! Ten chapters and I'm so close to a hundred reviews! I remember when I wrote like Disney Channel fanfiction (I know… Don't say anything) and I'd reach twenty chapters with only fifty reviews. Thank you! **

**I wonder who'll be the hundredth reviewer… ;)**


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